


Flirting during an apocalypse isn't as fun as it sounds

by Aasiyah



Category: B.A.P, K-pop
Genre: Again, Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, And Zelo thinks it's cute, Angst, Attempted Rape/Non-Con, Bad Flirting, Bottom Yongguk, Eventual Smut, Fluff, M/M, Romance, Slight Daejae, Swearing, Top Zelo, Yongguk blushes a lot, Yongguk is super out of character, slight himup
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-23
Updated: 2018-05-15
Packaged: 2018-08-24 06:17:52
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,439
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8360650
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aasiyah/pseuds/Aasiyah
Summary: Yongguk always thought living through an apocalypse could be pretty lonely and having a reliable companion would prove to be a blessing, but after hearing 'Have my fucking babies.' for the second time in less than a day, he'd much rather just be alone again.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> This story is unbeta'd and my first language is not english, so there will be a ton of mistakes. I hope you guys will still enjoy it though :)  
> I'm going to write this work more casually, so there won't be a ton of updates. I'm still writing my first fanfiction. If you want to take a look: http://archiveofourown.org/works/7376746  
> If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them. :D

 

His throat feels dry, so unbearably dry that it hurts. He craves something to drink, preferably some fresh water, but he ran out of any kind of drinkable liquid about four hours ago. Yongguk can feel the empty bottle press against the small of his back through the thin fabric of his bag, it's a constant reminder that he has to push on. There is no other choice.

He can't go back to his old hideout. The little flat he lived in for the past few weeks is occupied now by other survivors. Yongguk was just out for a quick trip to the nearby grocery store to stock up on his food supply in case one of the summer thunderstorms would hit soon.

When he returned to the apartment, there was already a group of around five people inside, rummaging through the drawers to find useful stuff and Yongguk couldn't risk a fight, so he quickly turned around and jogged away as quietly as he could.

In conclusion, the only things he still owns are his bag, a blanket, some energy bars, an empty water bottle, a raincape, a tiny knife, a picture of his family and the clothes he wears on his body.

Yongguk looks down at himself as the thought crosses his mind. His jeans are ripped in several places and look just as dirty as his once red sweater is, the clothing article has more of a greyish colour from all the dust he collected while climbing through collapsed buildings.

He sighs deeply and slumps down against the wall of a skyscraper. It's so hot even in the shadow. The sweat dripping down his neck makes his shirt cling uncomfortably to his back and it stings a little, which could indicate that he scraped his back open somewhere along the way. Yongguk sighs again and rubs the sleep out of his eyes. He can't risk falling asleep now, first he needs to find a safe place and something to drink.

If the night comes and he doesn't find a place situated higher than at least two meters above the ground he will get into serious trouble. _These guys_ , they can't really run fast or jump, so he should be okay once he's higher positioned than their actual body-height, but that's not his only problem.

The dead are as much of a hassle as the living are. Not enough supplies exist for every single survivor, so it's better to not trust anyone, no matter how nice they seem.

Yongguk had to experience it the hard way before. There was this boy, Mark was his name, he and Yongguk travelled together for a while as it just seemed convenient for both of them since they could rotate in who keeps watch  and have someone to talk to. It gets pretty lonely out here, Yongguk has to admit. 

One evening Mark declared he would take first watch and after Yongguk passed out cold, because he was so exhausted, the younger male took nearly all their provisions and left without a word.

Since then Yongguk strictly avoids all other survivors he crosses paths with.

He lets his eyes roam over the place, always ready to run if someone or something decides to show up.

Could have been a pretty busy place before, Yongguk thinks as he eyes the few display windows that are still intact. Quite a few look pretty promising, full of clean clothes and neat little accessories as well as some things that could actually prove to be useful like blankets for example. But Yongguk is smart and experienced enough to know that a few clean clothes are not worth the hassle and risk to get them, besides it's still warm enough outside for only one blanket, therefore more blankets would just slow him down.

Wiping the sweat from his forehead he makes sure that nobody is close before he steps out of the shadows and quickly begins crossing the square. The sun burns down mercilessly and Yongguk is tempted to turn back and hide in the shadows again, but the press of his water bottle against his back reminds him that he can't do that. So he drags himself forward.

The brunette has nearly reached his desired spot on the other side of the place when a particular shop window catches his attention. It belongs to a small convenient store, that looks somehow completely untouched.

It's suspicious, Yongguk knows that, but his throat burns and who knows when he gets the next opportunity to stock up some supplies, especially water.

He slips to the entrance of the building, still debating with himself if he should enter or not. Carefully, not to draw any unwanted attention to himself he peeks through the dirty window. Everything looks fine, quiet and empty, thereby it seems way to easy. There must be a reason why no other survivor has cleared out the building.

The thing is, Yongguk cannot afford to turn down such an excellent chance. This might be the only possibility for him to get drinkable liquid and other nourishment.

After a few more seconds the brunette male comes to the conclusion that he needs to take this risk in order to survive.

With the decision made he focuses all of his attention to the small glass door. He examines the lock and the doorframe, to see if there's some kind of trap installed or if there's a bell connected to the door.

After thoughtfully checking everything Yongguk finally grabs the doorhandle in one hand and his tiny knife in the other before slowly pushing the door open.

Almost immediately he drops down, gradually moving in the direction of one of the full shelves while observing everything around carefully.

It's quiet, too quiet.

The brunette stops once he reaches the shelf, pressing his back against it and inhaling softly, he listens closely, but there's still no sound. No groaning, no growling and no heavy footsteps...just silence. He stays still for a short while before proceeding to shuffle forward in search for the supplies he needs.

He stops again in front of a larger shelf, one that seems like it was supposed to carry chips, chocolate and other snacks. For a brief moment he studies the presented brand names, weighing the pros and cons of taking some stuff. It's probably expired by now anyway, he figures.

He leaves the food behind and moves forward steadily towards the register.

There are all kinds of cigarettes and other stuff that can make people become so easily addicted, Yongguk's a little amazed how there's not even one missing. He grabs a few packs, not for himself, obviously. It's foolish to rely on something like cigarettes during a time like this, but they are always nice for trading.

Yongguk usually doesn't talk to any strangers, the only other survivor he has regularly contact to is Kim Himchan. A young man, living outside of the city, he kind of functions as a merchant for survivors. Yongguk visits him quite often, bringing cigarettes or other stuff he doesn't actually need for himself and trades the goods for food or water or anything else he can use.

But now since he doesn't live close to the outskirts anymore there might not be any value in having them, he still grabs a few more packs, just in case.

He's so lost in his thoughts that he notices the footsteps too late.

Yongguk whips around just in time to get a gun pressed exactly between his eyes.

“Well,” the man holding the weapon is tiny and old, his hair already grey and Yongguk doesn't know if it's because of his age or the stuff he has seen, “Look what we have here.”

Three other men appear behind the first one and the brunette honestly doesn't know where they came from, he didn't see anything inside that could work as a good hideout, but he supposes it doesn't matter anymore. He already fucked up. There's no going back now.

“On your knees, arms behind your head,” the tiny man orders, the gun still pressed uncomfortably against his forehead Yongguk complies. He lets his knife fall to the ground and drops to his knees.

The grey-haired male nods to one of his companies, who as a result to that grabs Yongguk's backpack. He rips it open and after checking the contents throws it straight at the brunette's face.

“Trash,” he snarls, obviously disappointed, “Nothing we really need.”

The men look at each other for a few moments and as they glance in his direction with dark cold eyes Yongguk gets this sickening feeling in his gut.

“So,” the tallest of the four steps forward, crouching down as soon as he reaches the smaller male, he brings a hand up to Yongguk's face, who only barely resists the urge to bite his fucking fingers off, “You tried stealing from us and if I see this right...you have nothing to repay us with.”

He smirks, grabbing Yongguk's chin and forcing his head upwards. The angle hurts his neck and he only catches a glimpse of the other guy's sick smile.

“I mean, I know how you could repay us,” he says slowly, letting his hands travel down from his chin to his crotch area, “You look pretty hot.”

Yongguk feels like vomiting, his stomach is tight and in knots, his hands are shaking so much that his whole body vibrates. Cold sweats starts to pool on his forehead and back.

Another man comes close, before dropping to his knees and lifting up Yongguk's sweater, “You're so skinny!” One of his hands holds the sweater up while the other one travels to one of his nipples, rubbing over it a few times and Yongguk hates himself for reacting to the touch, “You're also pretty sensitive, huh?”

Yongguk's hands form fists behind his head and the muscles in his arms go taunt. He's ready to just punch the light out of that fucker, not caring if he gets shot a second later, it would be worth it.

“Uh uh,” the tallest chuckles and before Yongguk can even react the guy grips his neck and forces him down until he's laying flat on the ground. Someone pins his hands down, to stop him from putting up a fight.

Yongguk's been quiet until now, but as hands start pulling at his jeans, he just kind of shuts down and screams. He screams and screams and screams. Hoping for a miracle.

He's about to open his mouth again for another cry, but the only thing that comes out is a gurgling sound as one of these fuckers shoves a cloth into his mouth.

He squirms, trying to get his arms or legs free and even though two of them pin him to the ground now he still fights against them, desperately attempting to free himself.

“Goddammit, stop struggling!”

Yongguk doesn't listen, still resisting against their touch. His jeans are pushed down to his ankles by now and the only thing protecting him from the groping hands are his black briefs, a cold puff of air hits his thighs and he starts shaking even more. Wait, a draught? Yongguk's pretty sure that the door should be closed as well as all the windows.

“Fucking slut, stop squirming!” Something hard whacks against the back of his head and his forehead collides with the ground with a loud thud. He cries out, the pain shooting through his entire body numbs all his other senses. Yongguk's view narrows dangerously, his vision gets blurry and black for several seconds, but he doesn't faint.

Fortunately the pain slowly starts to reach a bearable extent after a minute and the brunette is surprised for a split second when he hears voices.

“Let him go.”

“Who the fuck are you?!” Yongguk recognizes the voice of the tallest man right next to his ear.

“Fucking asshole tried to steal from us, he stepped into our territory, so he's ours now.” One of the other two guys, who hasn't said anything until now, snarls.

“I hate repeating myself.”

“The fuck do you even think you're doing here? Just wait, after we're done with him here,” the man grabs a handful of Yongguk's butt, squeezing painfully, “I'm gonna take care of you right afterwards!”

There's a moment of silence, where the only thing the brunette hears is his own heartbeat before the fourth man exhales loudly, “I-I know you. Y-You're...you're Z-Zelo!”

Yongguk flinches, he didn't expect the grip on his wrist to tighten so much so suddenly. It hurts like crazy and if the guy presses anymore he's probably going to break the bones.

There's a shaky laugh next to his right ear, “Well that's awkward.” The man laughs some more, and even in his muddled state Yongguk's more than aware of the sheer panic and fear that's mixed into the sound. “You see,” he explains and the brunette can feel the hand on his ass tremble uncontrollably, “I was just joking.”

He laughs again, an unamused sound that cuts right through Yongguk's clouded mind.

“Y-You want to join us?” There's a hand in his hair again, forcing his head up until he faces the stranger directly, “He's pretty, it's going to be fun.”

The last word has barely made it out of his mouth when another one of the men hums in agreement, “It's rare to find someone who's this good-looking and still alive. Y-You can go first if you want. Just please leave us alone afterwards.” He says, sounding relieved that the stranger hasn't rejected the offer, yet.

The stranger blinks slowly, listening with his head tilted to the side and Yongguk cannot ignore the fact that the guy is extremely handsome and tall. He has short black hair and a significant amount of piercings decorates the shell of his ears. He's wearing a black sweater and blue jeans, that cling to his muscular thighs. And Yongguk honestly thinks that he's one of the most attractive human beings he has ever laid eyes upon.

The brunette is ripped out of his thoughts as two of the four men start whispering with each other, “Why are we scared like that? He's alone and we're four,” the first one mumbles.

“Lets just shoot him.”

There's a moment silence and Yongguk hears the blood rushing through his veins, he can look at the stranger one last time before the hand on his neck pushes him down again, a muffled sound escaping his mouth as his forehead hits the ground again, not a second later a gunshot echoes through the convenient store. Someone screams, but Yongguk can't see because his head is still getting pressed down against the floor.

Something chatters and a loud gurgling noise follows promptly. And suddenly the weight that held him down is lifted from his body. He hears bodies falling to the ground.

Yongguk keeps his eyes closed. He knows that he should look, observe the situation and run if it's possible, but he _can't_. His limbs feels heavy, his head is still throbbing dully with pain and the fear weighs him down. What if the stranger lost? What if he won? What's going to happen to him? Yongguk doesn't know. The only thing that he's sure of is that at least two people are dead and that's enough information for his brain to shut down completely.

Another gurgling sound awakens him from his numbness. He lifts one arm carefully to pull the cloth out of his mouth. Then he slowly peels his eyes open, prepared to see the handsome stranger laying on the ground with a bullet hole between his eyes, but he's not greeted by that sight. Instead the stranger holds the tallest of the men up with one arm, long fingers closed around his throat, the other hand holds a long knife.

Yongguk can't help but gasp for air loudly. The guy, who tried to rape him twitches at the sound while the stranger just throws a small smile in his direction and the brunette is amazed by his sheer inhuman strength but also terribly frightened. The male just killed four athletic men without even getting out of breath and Yongguk really doesn't want to start imagining what could happen to him.

The body of the tallest man slumps to the floor and the brunette is startled out of his thoughts. He pushes himself up and quickly slides his pants back on, fortunately the other person has the decency to avoid looking at him while he does so. After that he swiftly grabs his knife and edges back.

“I'm not going to hurt you,” the stranger says softly.

“And why the fuck should I believe you?” Yongguk hisses, taking a step back and holding the knife up with his shaking hands as the man comes closer.

“Why should I hurt you right after I killed these guys to save you? That wouldn't make any sense,” he chuckles, before holding his hands up in an innocent gesture, “My name is Junhong, by the way. What's yours?”

The brunette loosens his hold around the knife a little in response, “They said your name is Zelo not Junhong.”

“Zelo is just a nickname the people around here gave me. My real name is Junhong.”

“How could you take out four guys at once?” Yongguk asks.

“Well, technically speaking I didn't take them out at once.”

Yongguk scoffs that wasn't the answer he would have liked to hear, “Answer the question.”

“Demanding aren't we?” Junhong winks and Yongguk does not blush, definitely not, “I like it.”

The brunette groans after realizing that Junhong avoided the question again.

“Just answer!”

“Okay, whatever you want,” Junhong chuckles, “I was faster than they were and I was smarter. I knew they planned on attacking me, it was pretty obvious after both of them took out their guns. So I took them down before they could shoot.”

“But there was a gunshot?”

“Well yeah, that was my gun,” he holds up a small black handgun, “I always keep one hidden up my sleeve, just in case.” The black-haired male shrugs, shoving the object in one of his pockets. “So care to tell me your name, beautiful?”

Yongguk's face feels too hot. It must be unattractively red right now. “Yongguk,” he says, still keeping his eyes trained on Junhong's frame but pointedly avoiding eye contact, “Why did you save me?”

“Who could leave alone such a pretty boy,” he says, winking again, before adding in a serious tone afterwards, “And I obviously just wanted to help. I've watched them for a while now and was just waiting for them to come out of their hideout. They seemed suspicious to me and apparently, I was proven right.”

“Yeah...that sounds logically,” Yongguk takes a deep breath, finally lowering the knife and he's rewarded with a blinding smile, “What are you going to do now?”

“Well that depends,” Junhong answers, tapping his finger lightly against his bottom lip.

“On what?”

“On you.”

Trying to hide how red his ears are Yongguk screeches a little hysterically, “The fuck are you talking about?”

“Well, I will escort you to where you want to go,” he smirks, “I risked a lot to save you. It would be a waste for you to die now.”

He turns around and marches deeper into the convenient store, “Think about it.”

And Yongguk has absolutely no idea what just happened.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh guys, it's been so long again! I'm sorry :(  
> But school is really hard for me right now. Exam season and all...  
> Anyway, I hope you'll enjoy the chapter. :D  
> It's a little shorter than the other one but yeah...  
> If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them. :D

They leave half an hour later, bags filled with all kinds of food and other stuff that could be useful. Yongguk even got one of the old chocolate bars he used to eat when he visited his grandparents. Junhong saw how his eyes had lit up as he spotted them and the taller male slipped a few inside his backpack despite Yongguk's vehement protests. _'You like them?'_ Junhong had asked and as Yongguk nodded he had smiled _, 'Then take them.'_

“So where are we heading to?” Junhong asks, adjusting the straps of his backpack.

“I have a friend. His name is Himchan and he lives just outside of the city. It's about two or three days away in this direction,” Yongguk explains.

“I know Himchan,” Junhong answers and as Yongguk gives him a questioning gaze he continues, “He's pretty famous among survivors for his trading.”

“You don't...” Yongguk licks his lips, “You don't have to come with me.”

Junhong smiles at him, all toothy and gummy, “But I want to. It sounds like fun.”

“Walking all day long in sweltering heat without getting anything from it sounds fun to you?”

“No but you do,” Junhong playfully winks at him and Yongguk feels his cheeks heat up again.

“Shut up,” he mutters and heads off, stomping loudly while doing so. Junhong chuckles lightly following suit.

“You're cute,” He says.

“Shut up,” Yongguk repeats, this time quieter and with even redder cheeks. Junhong only chuckles in response. “Cute,” he mumbles while catching up.

They walk in comfortable silence for a while, sometimes giving hand gestures if there's a group of walkers in front of them or other obstacles they need to avoid.

It must have been at least an hour until Junhong speaks up again.

“So,” he starts, “What do you miss most?”

Yongguk trips over a big stone in response. “What?” He asks looking at Junhong, who watches him calmly.

“Well,” He shrugs and stops next to Yongguk, “What do you miss most? Family? Friends? Beer? Dogs?”

Yongguk is too surprised by Junhong's sudden question to actually realize that he stopped walking, “I-,” he licks his lips and fiddles with his fingers, watching old dirt and blood peel off as he rubs them together, “Why do you wanna know?”

Junhong shrugs again. “I just wanna know,” he lets his eyes roam over the place and Yongguk can see how he takes everything in, every single detail. There's nothing that these attentive eyes would ever miss, Yongguk is sure of that.

After carefully thinking about his answer and fiddling with his hands some more Yongguk finally opens his mouth. He doesn't even know why he thinks it's important to have a good answer to such a silly question. It's not like he knows Junhong. And it's not like he needs to impress him. But still, somehow he does. Somehow he does need to impress him and somehow he's not even opposed to the thought of getting to know the younger some more. It's stupid, Yongguk thinks, but he doesn't care right now.

“Music,” he drawls, watching Junhong carefully, not wanting to miss his reaction.

Said one looks at him with so much intensity that Yongguk can feel the blush creep up his neck again and heat pool in the pit of his stomach.

“Really? That's your answer?”

And if anybody else would have said it like this, it might have sounded like an insult, like they thought Yongguk was ridiculous, but Junhong sounded genuinely interested and Yongguk's grateful for it.

“Yes, music was something really important to me,” he explains, “I bounded through it with my brother and sister. It kept us together even in hard times and I'm kind of sad that there are songs that I'm never gonna hear again.”

Yongguk looks up at the sun for a moment before continuing his rambling, “It's just...there are songs, that I listened to in my childhood and I'm...I'm never going to hear them ever again. I don't even remember any of the songs at all. I mean – don't get me wrong, I miss my family, but they could still be alive and I don't want to think otherwise,” he takes a deep breath and rubs a dirty hand over his face, “I'm sorry it's probably stupi-”

“Not at all!” Junhong interrupts him.

Yongguk flinches a little, surprised by his sudden outburst.

“I don't think it's stupid at all!”

“You...what?!”

“Well you see,” he licks his lips, still watching Yongguk closely, “I think as long as something makes you happy it's a good thing and you should never think it's ridiculous or stupid.”

Junhong smiles at him and Yongguk, who feels his legs turn to jelly, only manages a short nod.

There's a few beats of silence. Junhong's watching him with a mix of curiosity and something else and Yongguk can't really tell what makes his eyes seem so intense, so memorable.

The moments gets interrupted as a lone walker strolls around the corner of the skyscraper, only mere centimetres away from Yongguk's back. He feels himself stiffen automatically. The elder hears a loud groan, then there are hands grabbing at his neck. A pair of really sharp nails cut into the back of his head and Yongguk is still too surprised to react as they try to pull him backwards.

In the blink of an eye Junhong is in front of him and the knife is buried deep in the skull of a middle-aged woman, only the handle sticking out.

Fingers close around his wrist as the weight of the falling zombie threatens to pull him down. Junhong manages to keep him steady, grunting quietly because it's more straining than he assumed it to be.

“You alright?”

Yongguk exhales slowly, letting his eyes roam over the place and scolding himself silently for not paying attention, and even worse, panicking in such a situation. He could've easily been killed!

Gradually, his heartbeat slows down to a normal pace again.

“Yeah, thank you,” he exhales, avoiding looking at Junhong's face.

He was saved for the second time in one day like a princess that needed to be rescued every two seconds. That's goddamn embarrassing! He's a grown man! He should be able to handle himself, especially since he managed to do it before, too.

Well, he supposes, better messing up now while there's someone to save him than being alone and getting eaten alive.

“You're welcome,” the taller male responds and lets his wrist go after quickly checking if Yongguk's really fine. It's strangely cold now that Junhong removed his hand, but Yongguk ignores it. That's really not what he needs right now. _Don't get attached_ , his brain reminds him dryly.

From that point on they mostly walk in silence only occasionally interrupting it to warn the other or chat quietly about some uninteresting stuff.

“You know, sometimes I did rap a little before all of this started,” Junhong says, gracefully stepping over a huge piece of stone, which could have been part of a house once. He holds out a hand in a silent offer for Yongguk to take.

However said one steps over it by himself, admittedly a little wobbly, but not everyone has two meter long legs.

“Really? Me too, but not very often. I didn't really have a lot of time,” Yongguk explains, climbing painfully slowly over a boulder all the while trying to suppress whimpering at the way his sweat-drenched shirt clings to the scratches on his back. He should probably clean the wounds if he gets an opportunity.

Junhong, who practically jumped over it, watches him carefully, a worried expression on his face.

“You sure that you're okay?”

“Yeah I'm fine,” Yongguk huffs. _Fucking Fantastic_ , he thinks as the fabric catches on one of the deeper scratches.

“So rap, huh?” the elder states, as an attempt to change the topic.

Junhong's face instantly lights up and he beams openly at Yongguk now, “Yes! There was actually a company that wanted me to be a trainee for them.”

The black-haired male stands a little taller while he talks, obviously proud of his accomplishment and Yongguk's mind wanders for a moment. The other male looks absolutely adorable. However, he quickly catches himself again, frowning at the way his thoughts strayed.

“That's s so cool though! Did you go to a casting or did they discover you on the street?” Yongguk asks, excitement vibrating through his voice. He always wanted to debut and show his music to the world. Well...too late now.

“I actually went to a casting after they discovered me,” Junhong explains while jumping over another stone. He holds his hand out again and this time Yongguk grabs it instantly, too distracted by their conversation.

“I was seventeen and needed money, so I performed a little on the streets. On the second day a tiny guy came over and asked me if I go to a music college, how old I am and who I am. Then he told me that his company is looking for new trainees and if I want to I can come to a casting. He was sure I would make it.”

Yongguk listens eagerly, even while another walker crosses their path. He simply drives his knife into it's skull until only the handle sticks out, before pulling it back out with a little bit of trouble. All the while still attentively listening to Junhong's (probably) exaggerated story about how he nailed his casting.

“So yeah after that I was an official trainee,” he beams openly at Yongguk, who can't help but smile softly back at him, “My mom said I cried, but I didn't! At least I'm pretty sure I didn't...”

Yongguk laughs quietly at that, hiding his gummy smile with the back of his palm.

“So you're emotional, huh?”

“What's wrong with being emotional?” Junhong huffs.

“Nothing,” Yongguk shrugs, “It's just been a while since I've met someone, so I'm a little curious.”

“Has it really been that long since you've met other survivors?” Junhong asks, one eyebrow arched as if he can't imagine that Yongguk's actually a loner.

“Yeah about two weeks or so. And if I ever meet any other survivors it's usually only when I'm around Himchan.”

“That's unexpected.”

“Why? We live in an apocalypse. Not many people I could talk to.”

“It's just,” Junhong fiddles with the straps of his backpack, “You look like you would fit well into a group.”

“Why do you think that?” Yongguk asks.

Junhong glances at him, his eyes rake over the span of Yongguk's body intensely and the older male only barely manages to suppress the shudder that threatens to rip through his body.

Junhong hums and then smiles, “I honestly don't know. You just seem...like a person people would like to be around.”

Yongguk's head snaps up, surprised.

“I like being around you,” Junhong smiles gently and Yongguk's sure there’s smoke coming out of his ears.

“Oh shut up!” he grumbles and starts walking away, ignoring the way Junhong silently laughs beside him.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys :D  
> It's been so long again I know T.T sorry  
> Anyway I hope you'll like this chapter, I really enjoyed writing it! By the way, thanks for all the nice comments and kudos, they make my day <3  
> If you want to take a look, here's my other story: http://archiveofourown.org/works/7376746  
> If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them. :D

It's been two days since the two started their journey towards Himchan's home and Yongguk somehow finds himself actually enjoying Junhong's company.

“Okay I have another one,” Junhong exclaims, “Do you have a name or can I call you mine?”

At least most of the time.

“Oh god,” Yongguk huffs, blushing madly, “That's even worse than the last one, I can't believe you memorized something like this! Did it ever actually work?”

“You would be surprised,” Junhong chuckles.

“You sure it was because of the pick-up line? Not because of your personality or your looks –“ Yongguk waves his hands in an empty gesture. Only a second too late he realizes how this might have sounded and immediately feels the blush creep up his neck.

“Aww Yonggukie,” Junhong coos, “I'm flattered that you think I'm good-looking _and_ nice.”

“I-I didn't say that!” Yongguk nearly screeches.

“But you meant it,” Junhong points out with a smirk and Yongguk hates how Junhong still manages to look adorable and not arrogant even while wearing such a facial expression.

“Oh shut up,” the black-haired male huffs, turning away so Junhong can't see his red cheeks, “We better find a safe place for the night.”

“Alright,” Junhong replies loudly and Yongguk pretends he doesn't hear the following 'adorable'.

They walk a little longer in the same direction, even though the sun already starts to set, looking for a place that could provide protection, but also appear completely unappealing to other survivors.

“This one seems okay,” Junhong states, pointing at an old raggedy building with broken windows. From the looks of it a storm must have been the reason for the destruction. It's perfect and Yongguk would've walked past it if it weren't for Junhong's sharp eyes.

“I'm gonna check it out,” the taller male explains, already grabbing his knife, “Can you watch the streets for me?”

“Or I'm gonna check it out and you're gonna take watch,” Yongguk answers, grabbing his knife as well. He's not quite sure what he's trying to prove, but his pride tells him to at least _try_ not to seem like a completely useless companion. He can handle things himself, he did it before. It's just – since Junhong started traveling with him he  is somehow way more mindless than usual. Maybe it's because Junhong is unbelievable distracting at times or maybe it's because he feels (weirdly enough) a lot safer around the taller male. Yongguk honestly doesn't know, but it kind of pisses him off.

Junhong raises an eyebrow at that. “You can if you want,” he drawls, his eyes flicker between Yongguk and the building, “But I would like to go first. If you're okay with that?”

_Oh shit_ , Yongguk thinks as he watches Junhong bow his head. The younger blinks sleepily down at him and he can't believe how cute this looks. _Goddammit get a grip_ , Yongguk scolds himself silently. No matter how cute the other male looks, he's still dangerous. He killed four people without as much as getting out of breath and additionally in the span of the last day Yongguk witnessed just how capable Junhong is in dealing with life-threatening situations. So he tries to remember not to trust the younger male too much, after all they only met two days ago, tops.

Their eyes lock.  Brown meets brown and Yongguk forces himself to swallow. He fumbles with his words for a moment, “I-uh...sure. Y-You can go ahead, I'm gonna take watch.”

Junhong beams at him instantly, relief clearly showing on his features, Yongguk is momentarily confused by that. Why would Junhong be relieved?

“Great! I'll be fast I promise!” The black-haired male smiles gently, “Please be careful. And if anybody comes by, don't try to talk to them, even if they seem trustworthy. Hide yourself and wait for me to come out again.” Yongguk's a little annoyed by how much the taller male sounds like his mother did back in the old days, when she reminded him not to talk to strangers. He nearly laughs out loud at the thought.

“And Gukkie, you don't come inside until I say so, okay?”

“Yes mom,” Yongguk replies, rolling his eyes, “But what do I do if you don't come out again?”

“That won't happen,” Junhong smirks, squeezing the other male's shoulder in a reassuring manner.

He's through the front door, before Yongguk can protest (or realize how much he misses the comforting warmth on his shoulder).

*~*~

It's thirty minutes later when Yongguk hears the faint roar of an engine. It's a motorcycle, that much is clear.

He looks around, searching for a spot to hide, but the only thing close enough to reach in time and to guarantee absolute safety is the house. So Yongguk doesn't hesitate for long, he sprints over the porch and wrenches the door open, slamming it loudly behind himself. Yongguk drops to the floor, back pressed against the door as he waits, chest heaving.

The engine of the motorcycle dies down exactly in front if the porch.

“Did you hear that?” One, obviously female, voice asks.

“It's only the fucking house like always. Must be a fuckin' deathtrap with all the walkers it attracts through the noise.”

Yongguk stiffens at that. Deathtrap? He pales visibly. That would explain why Junhong's still somewhere inside this house. Yongguk is sure that Junhong usually does a quick job in getting rid of the walkers. But what if there's too many? What if Junhong got ambushed? Yongguk can't help but flinch at the thought. He only knows Junhong for about two days, thus he's really shocked by how much the thought of losing the younger male upsets him.

Yongguk doesn't hear him coming, but he notices the shift in the air that a movement causes. He's grabbing his knife, ready to whirl around and slice open whatever comes at him. However, he's not fast enough. There's a knife near his throat and fingers close around the hand that's holding the weapon. Yongguk panics immediately. The strong grip around his wrist doesn't let him move at all and the other person's knife is not close enough to actually be of any danger, which kind of really irritates him.

“Calm down,” a pleasant voice whispers and Yongguk knows who it is straightaway.

“Goddammit Junhong!” The elder male hisses. “You nearly gave me a heart attack!”

The black-haired man chuckles quietly, before lowering his knife and leaning in closer, “I'm sorry, Gukkie. I didn't mean to surprise you. You okay?”

Yongguk tries to suppress the shiver that runs through him, as he feels Junhong's breath brush over his ear. He fails miserably by the way.

“Yeah,” he croaks.

“I think they'll be going soon, but we should be quiet and keep down for a while,” Junhong explains, finally letting go of Yongguk's wrist, moving away a little from Yongguk's body, to give him some space.

And Yongguk can't say that he minds it too much.

They squat on the ground for about five minutes, before the engine springs to life again. Yongguk lets out a breath he didn't know he was holding.

“I think they're gone,” Junhong says, already standing up and brushing the dust from his pants. “Let's go, I need to show you something,” he continues, grabbing Yongguk's wrist and helping him up.

“I hope it's something good, to make up for what you did to my poor heart,” Yongguk mumbles. He's a little proud of himself as Junhong shakes in silent laughter besides him.

“Don't worry, you're gonna love this,” he grins, leading Yongguk up the stairs and into the room directly opposite to the staircase. He pushes the door open and gestures for Yongguk to go inside first.

“Someone lives here,” Yongguk states, appalled.

“Lived. Past tense,” Junhong replies, grabbing Yongguk's waist and turning him around until they're facing the unmoving body of a walker. There's blood on his chest and teeth and Yongguk feels his heart-rate pick up drastically. It's _fresh_ blood.

He turns around slowly, before letting his eyes roam over Junhong's body, “Were you bitten?” And despite his efforts to sound nonchalant his voice wavers a little at the end.

“No he didn't bit me,” Junhong raises his arms in an innocent gesture.

“Then why is there fresh blood?” Yongguk asks, carefully taking a few steps back.

“That's because,” Junhong begins, following the older male again and grabbing his waist to spin him around, “He bit her.” For a moment Yongguk is tempted to grab his knife and stop Junhong from touching him, but he quickly notices what the other male is talking about.

“He ate his own dog?” Yongguk says, eying the remnants of what seems was a German Shepherd once.

“Yeah, poor thing,” Junhong's expression morphs into one of sadness and Yongguk understands him, “I don't exactly know how he died, but I'm pretty sure it might have been Dehydration.”

“He didn't die long ago.”

“No, if I had to guess I think about twelve hours ago. The blood's still warm, so he killed the dog only recently,” Junhong explains, crouching down next to the dead man. He holds out his palm, searching for something under the bed.

“There's one more thing I found,” the black-haired male stops what he's doing for a moment to look at Yongguk with a big smile, “Ready? Say hello to the little one.” Yongguk's a little confused with what he's talking about, but then Junhong pulls something out from under the bed.

“It's a puppy,” Yongguk mumbles out loud, “It's a fucking puppy!”

“You found a puppy,” he gapes at Junhong as said one holds out the tiny thing for Yongguk to take. Which he promptly does. It's warm and fluffy and _so_ small in his arms and he still can’t believe this. A Puppy. A goddamn puppy.

“His siblings were already dead when I came inside, only he was hiding under the bed,” Junhong explains, stepping close to pet the puppy, “Isn't he adorable?”

“I can't believe you found a puppy,” Yongguk whispers, scratching the dog behind the ears, “Male or female?”

“I'm not sure,” the taller male drawls, grabbing the puppy and turning it around so Yongguk can give it a once over, “I'd say a male, but I can only guess.”

“What are we gonna do with him?” Yongguk asks, rubbing it's stomach as Junhong lets it climb back into the older male's arms.

“I don't know. What do you think we should do?”

“I mean...we can't take him with us can we,” Yongguk barely suppresses the 'ooh' that tries to escape his mouth as the dog falls asleep right in his arms. “Why not?” Junhong asks, not even trying to stop himself from cooing at the animal, “We have dog food for at least a week and we can carry him, he's still small enough.”

“That might be true, but what are we going to do after that? I don't think Himchan would take him and I'm not going to settle down any time soon, so you-” Yongguk doesn't finish the sentence, he only waves his free hand in an empty gesture.

“It sounds like we're talking about a child,” Junhong chuckles and Yongguk can't help but join in. This situation is just too absurd. “Okay suggestion, how about we take him with us for now and once we reach Himchan's we talk about this again?” Junhong suggests, using his big brown eyes and pouty lips to persuade the older male and Yongguk thinks it's unfair how he's even more adorable than the puppy.

“I guess...” Yongguk drawls, slowly lowering the puppy onto the bedsheets. It makes a little (very very cute) noise and curls up to sleep some more. “At least it's better than leaving the tiny guy alone.”

“Great,” Junhong beams, “We're going to be a happy family!” Yongguk can't help but laugh a little as Junhong spins the two of them around a few times. He also can't help the blush that creeps up his neck.

“Stop,” he grumbles weakly, “You're so weird.”

Junhong smiles at him teasingly, “But you secretly like it.”

“Whatever,” Yongguk frowns, ignoring the warm feeling in the pit of his stomach. He only met the guy two days ago, for god's sake!

“Let's get this guy and his dog out of here, before either starts to rot.”

“Too late,” Junhong says, pulling a face. “I get the big guy and you the dog?” The younger male questions and Yongguk hurriedly nods, already awaiting a good night's rest.

They search the room for a clean pair of sheets, before Junhong pulls the dead man out of the room and Yongguk tries to conceal that he's kind of ogling his flexing biceps. To his defense, that's a pair of _really_ nice arms. He wraps the sheets around the dog, grimacing as fresh blood soaks through the fabric immediately. He hurries down the stairs, hoping that the blood hasn't soaked through his shirt by the time he reaches the backyard. The only other clothing item he possesses is a totally dirty and smelly red sweater and he'd prefer not wearing it again until it's washed. He puts the cadaver down near a few bushes, and covers it with twigs and leaves.

After finishing his task, he quickly climbs the stairs back up, reaching the room just as Junhong throws the bloody rag, he used for cleaning the floor, out of the window.

“Hey you got any idea how we're going to name him?” He asks, crooking his head in the direction of the sleeping pup. Yongguk sits down on the bed, petting the tiny German Shepherd as it climbs into his lap and goes back to sleeping. “I don't know,” he bites his lips in thought, “I mean we don't even know if it's a boy or a girl.”

“Does it really matter?” Junhong asks, raising an eyebrow.

“I suppose not,” Yongguk murmurs, “What do you think?”

“How about Mochii? When I was a child my plush dog was also named Mochii,” Junhong suggests, sitting down beside him and petting the dog. “We're not going to name it Mochii.”

“But why not?” The taller male pouts. Yongguk rolls his eyes and grins despite not wanting to, “Because it sounds ridiculous. Why would you name a dog after Japanese sweets?”

“It's cute! He's gonna love it. It's a great idea!”

“It's a terrible idea,” Yongguk replies, squirming away as Junhong hits his shoulder playfully, “But if you want. I mean you found him, so technically he's yours now.”

“He's ours now. We're gonna be his dads,” Junhong says, sounding completely serious until Yongguk starts hitting his shoulder a few times while chanting 'No', then he laughs loudly. “Stop, stop! I get it.”

Yongguk lifts the puppy up and sits it back down on the taller man's lap. “Well, I'm going to make some food now. Any special requests?”

“You're going to be the best mother for the little one,” Junhong says, voice filled with awe. “Oh my god, shut up!” Yongguk hisses, rummaging through his backpack in an attempt to hid his red cheeks, “Out of all the people that could've saved me it had to be a weirdo.”

Yongguk pointedly ignores the loud protests that follow after.

 

*~*~

 

It's two hours later when Yongguk slowly starts to drift off, belly filled with a disgusting amount of expired noddle soup and protein bars, that Mochii climbs onto his chest to curl up, letting out a little yawn in the process. “You are adorable,” he whispers, nuzzling into the soft fur, that fortunately smells like it was washed not long ago.

“You are _both_ adorable,” Junhong whispers, petting the dog over the head and shushing Yongguk as he automatically tries to protest. “I'm so done with you,” Yongguk hisses, but there's no real heat behind his reply,  he's probably just getting accustomed to the weird behavior. Junhong rolls his eyes at him, the smile never leaving his face, “I'm going to take the first watch.” He grabs the spare blanket they found in the wardrobe and a big pillow from the bed, before arranging himself beside the door, knife and gun next to him, just in case.

“I'll wake you around 3 am, this way we can get five hours each,” Junhong explains, rubbing over his eyes, obviously tired. Yongguk feels a little guilty at the sight, but he's sleepy as well and he's not going to pass up an opportunity to cuddle with a _real_ puppy. He hums in agreement, pulling the blanket up until most of his chest in covered, aware of the little one there and falls asleep not long after.

And if Junhong wakes him an hour later than previously arranged neither of them decide to mention it. 


	4. Chapter 4

The morning comes fast enough for Yongguk to make him feel like he didn't sleep at all. His eyelids already grow heavy again by the time they stop for a short break. He slumps down onto the dusty ground, the back of his head resting against the dirty grey wall behind him. Junhong sits down next to him, groaning and chuckling as the puppy in his arms licks over his chin. Yongguk watches in amazement as the tiny thing frees himself from the taller male and climbs onto his lap instead, quietly demanding cuddles. He absently pets it's head, scratching behind the ears while realizing how lucky they are that it's indeed a quiet animal.

“I'm so tired,” Junhong sighs, rubbing his eyes, “I swear I haven't slept since the apocalypse started.”

Yongguk groans in agreement, eyes slipping close and head falling to the side.

“Hey don't sleep here,” Junhong says softly, hands sliding through Yongguk's dirty hair, “It's not that far anymore.”

Yongguk hums in acknowledgment, but still decides to keep his eyes closed for good measure.

Junhong sighs, pulling his hands back and Yongguk starts missing the comforting touch a second later, so he slowly opens his eyes, blinking as his eyes adjust to the bright daylight.

Junhong's crouching in front of him, rummaging through his backpack, before pulling out a big bottle filled to the brim with clear fresh water and Yongguk gulps visibly at the sight. Would it be rude to ask for a little sip? _Yes of course it would be rude, what are you even thinking_ , Yongguk scolds himself silently, _it's the apocalypse, nobody wants to share stuff._

Yongguk turns away, not wanting to give in to the temptation, but then he feels a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he flinches out of reflex.

“Do you want some?” Junhong asks with a soft smile, offering the bottle.

Yongguk's eyes flicker between the item and Junhong's face, searching, “Are you sure? It's yours and I don't want to...”

“Oh no, I'm sure,” Junhong smiles, pressing the bottle gently into Yongguk's hands. “Drink. I have another one,” he explains, pulling out the mentioned object to take a sip.

They rest for a while, quietly chatting, but still paying attention to their surroundings, since you can never be sure when some kind of danger plops up.

After both of them had a protein bar and a few gulps of water they continue their journey. Even though they only just started to walk it's so hot under the sun that Yongguk's tempted to just sit down somewhere in the shadows again. Junhong sighs next to him, quickly jumping over a big boulder, before holding out his hand to help Yongguk get over it. Said one rolls his eyes, but accepts the offered hand anyway.

“I swear, summer in Korea is probably the worst thing,” Junhong complains, wiping the sweat from his forehead and Yongguk can't help but stare for a moment before answering.

“Well I'd say the winter is even worse or, you know, maybe the apocalypse,” Yongguk answers with a shrug, “But what do I know.”

Junhong laughs quietly, clearly surprised by Yongguk's sass, “Can't argue with that one.”

“You know, I haven't seen Himchan in ages,” he says, sounding excited, “Does he still have the habit of dying his hair weird colors?”

Yongguk nods, grinning widely as he tries to not break out into loud laughter.

“Which color is it right now?”

“I think he's back to black by now. At least that's what he told me when I last visited him.”

Junhong pouts cutely, clearly disappointed with his answer, “I expected something more colorful to be honest.”

Yongguk shrugs, smiling softly, “Well if it helps, his boyfriend has blue hair now?”

Junhong stops walking then and instead settles for openly gaping at Yongguk, “He has a boyfriend now?”

The younger male throws his hands up, “I didn't even know!”

Yongguk chuckles a little at that, Junhong's just so adorable. “Yeah, well they met around half a year ago and hit it off immediately,” the older male explains, “They've been together for like four or five months by now I think.”

“I really should've visited him more often,” Junhong sighs, rubbing a hand through his messy black hair, “Somehow I feel like that one time I didn't call my mom and she suddenly had a new girlfriend.”

“Well,” Yongguk chuckles, “If you guys are that close.”

“We used to be,” Junhong says with a big smile adorning his face, “But I settled down for a while. You know how it is. I was tired and bored of always running away, so I searched for a better place.”

“And you found one, I assume?” Yongguk asks, distracted enough to trip over a rock. Junhong's hands hold him before he even realizes that he's falling.

“Whoa, you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah. Thank you,” Yongguk mumbles, turning away so that the younger male can't see his red cheeks, “Back to my question?”

“Yes, I found a good place. It was a nice apartment in one of the more expensive neighborhoods. Cute and tiny, nothing too hard to protect and not easy to find. In the summer I planted a few crops on the balcony and in the winter I left them in the apartment. The district was apparently pretty damn expensive, because nearly no zombie was inside the whole area. Briefly speaking, it was perfect,” the black-haired male explains.

“Then why are you here now?” Yongguk asks, before he remembers that he's not supposed to be nosy or get attached to the other person.

“Well, I don't know for sure,” Junhong drawls, “It just didn't feel right? I'd love to say that I was happy there, but after a while I realized that I don't want to survive the apocalypse – I want to live through it, if that makes sense. So I packed my stuff with the plan to visit some old friends.”

“You wanted to go to Himchan's from the beginning! That was your plan!” Yongguk exclaims, pointing an accusing finger at Junhong.

Said male shrugs, smiling easily. “It actually was, but then I met you and I just couldn't resist someone so pretty.”

Yongguk growls loudly, rubbing over his red cheeks and stomping away loudly. Junhong (and his goddamn abnormally long legs) catch up quickly though.

“Don't be mad,” Junhong whines, “I was only joking.” A few seconds of silence follow, before the younger male starts talking again, “Except for the pretty part, you're really cute and the best mother.” He smiles cheekily and holds up the puppy as Yongguk lifts his right hand in a threatening gesture.

Yongguk sighs, and grabs the dog, petting it a few times, before continuing his path. “If only you weren't this cute,” he murmurs.

“Thank you!” Junhong immediately butts in. Not even a second later Yongguk lets out a long suffering wail while hitting the taller man repeatedly against the shoulder, since he's no longer protected by the puppy, “I could not have been more clearly talking to the dog!”

Junhong rolls his eyes, smiling and dodging as Yongguk tries to kick him in the shin, “Obviously.”

“If you don shut up this instant I will – “

“Okay...okay how about a change of subject instead?” Junhong says, accompanying his offer with a beautiful smile. Yongguk grumbles something unintelligible in response and Junhong takes it as a yes.

“Back then, Himchan actually offered me to stay with him.”

Yongguk sputters a little at that, “Were you two-?”

“Oh god no,” Junhong denies immediately, “He was looking out for me when I was younger. For a while I was the tiniest in my whole school and everybody made fun of me, except Himchan.”

The older male looks up at Junhong with a frown on his face, it's hard to imagine that Junhong was once the tiniest and even harder that he was once bullied.

“Well a year later my growth spurt hit and then I could spit on all their heads so –” Junhong shrugs, grinning widely and Yongguk can't help but smile too.

*~*~

The sun starts to set just as they finally reach Himchan's house. It seems older and even shabbier than Yongguk remembers. The wood in front of the windows has more holes than ever and the door looks like one gust could unhinge it.

Yongguk knows for a fact that it's not what it seems. Himchan is known for his trading among survivors and that can only work without incidents if everything is nicely prepared and secured.

“I'll go first okay?” Yongguk whispers.

“Sure.”

Yongguk knocks three times on the door, just like Himchan told him to do, before he slowly pushes it open. The wooden flooring creaks as he enters the big house. It's dark since the windows don't let any light inside, but Yongguk remembers the place well enough to find his way around, even in the darkness.

“Hello?” There's the click of a light-switch and suddenly the room gets flooded by bright warm light. It flickers a little where older and newer bulbs are in the same lamp, but it's still impressive that it's actual electricity.

“Yongguk?” Jongup asks, sounding surprised, “You're back so soon?” The younger male smiles widely while coming closer to pull Yongguk into a bone-crushing hug, “It's good to see you.”

“It's good to see you too,” Yongguk grins, “I hope everything is fine?”

Jongup grins sheepishly at that, “Well you know how it is. The usual trouble, nothing remarkably.”

“Who's your friend?” He asks loudly, before leaning in close to Yongguk's ear, “Or maybe _boyfriend?_ ”

Yongguk sputters, “N-no, this is Junhong. He helped me and he apparently knows Himchan.”

“Oh really?” Jongup turns to take a look at Junhong and he sounds even more surprised than before.

“Yeah we've been childhood friends, but I last visited him before you two became a thing so you probably don't know me,” Junhong smiles charmingly, extending one hand, “Hello, my name is Junhong. It's nice to meet you.”

Jongup laughs and grabs the offered hand, “It's nice to meet you too. I'm Jongup and I'm Himchan's boyfriend.”

Junhong opens his mouth as if he's about to say something else, but gets interrupted as the tiny puppy in his arms begins to bark, obviously wanting some attention too.

“No fucking way?” Jongup mutters in complete disbelief, “Where did you find this little guy?”

He slowly extends his arms towards the puppy, silently asking for permission. Junhong hands it over wordlessly, glancing at Yongguk as if he's supposed to explain it. Said male sighs, defeated.

“We found him inside an old house. The owner died not too long before we decided to use it as our hide-out for the night and he was the only pup that survived from the entire litter, so we took him with us,” Yongguk explains, eyes drifting between the dog and Junhong. The younger male looks really tired, big eye-bags adorn his face and he tries every few minutes to stifle a yawn. Now Yongguk feels a little bad about the fact that Junhong slept less because of him.

“Does he have a name?” Jongup asks, holding his hand in front of the puppy's snout to let him become acquainted with the smell.

Yongguk throws a quick glare at Junhong, who only grins and winks back in response, “His name is Mochii.”

“Mochii,” Jongup hums thoughtfully, “Well that's a stupid name.”

“Excuse you,” Junhong exclaims dramatically, “It's a _great_ name okay? It's cute, creative and fits his fur color perfectly!”

“It is stupid,” Jongup insists while Yongguk nods repeatedly in approval.

“It's not! It's cute,” Junhong pouts and Yongguk feels that he can't quite look away from these pink, slightly chapped, but still puffy lips. He doesn't want to think about what this could mean.

“It's really fucking stupid,” Another deep voice adds and Yongguk flinches, spinning around so fast it's a miracle he didn't get a whiplash. “And by the way, you're a goddamn asshole for never fucking visiting,” Himchan says, hitting Junhong several times against the chest before pulling him into a hug that looks pretty uncomfortable. “I hate you. I thought you were dead or something, shithead!”

“I'm sorry,” Junhong wheezes, obviously trying to get some oxygen into his lungs, “I missed you too?”

Himchan seems satisfied with the answer despite his eye-rolling. “Yongguk!” He exclaims as if he didn't even realize that the older male is there too. The black-haired man lets Junhong go to pull Yongguk into a quick hug instead, “Not lying dead inside a dump I see.”

“Nice to see you too,” Yongguk chuckles. Himchan only raises his eyebrows challengingly at that, “Anyway what are you doing with my little Junhong?”

Yongguk can't help but snort a little at the word 'little' as he watches Junhong shuffle around uncomfortably, “He saved me a while back and after that wouldn't leave me alone.”

Junhong gasps in fake indignation, poking Yongguk in the side, who squirms away laughing.

Himchan turns to the taller male, frowning, “Your hero tendencies again?”

“It's not like that, Hyung,” Junhong denies.

“What do you mean by 'hero tendencies'?” Yongguk interrupts with narrowed eyebrows.

“You wouldn't know because you don't talk to other people, but this guy,” Himchan points at Junhong, “Is actually really famous for all the sick stuff he's done. Nearly every survivor that comes by knows his name,” Himchan pauses, clearly thinking about something, “They call him Zelo by the way, if you haven't heard it.”

“Oh,” Yongguk breathes, completely taken aback, “That's...unexpected.”

“How is this unexpected,” Junhong pouts, “I'm good at what I do!”

“Never said you weren't,” Yongguk replies, blushing a little at how smooth this sounded. Junhong looks down at him, eyes turning soft as they lock with Yongguk's.

A loud coughs interrupts their little moment and Yongguk immediately bolts away, keeping his eyes trained on Himchan to avoid anymore embarrassment.

“Interesting,” Himchan mumbles, shooting Jongup a pointed look, that only he can understand.

“It's already late,” Jongup smiles, handing Yongguk the puppy back, “How about you guys put your stuff away and then go to sleep. We'll talk about everything tomorrow?”

Yongguk nods, sending the smaller male a grateful smile for dissipating the awkward air.

They both make their way upstairs, searching for a good room while Himchan and Jongup lock everything. Yongguk can hear them talk in hushed voices as he suddenly remembers something.

“How come you call Himchan Hyung and not me?” He asks, hoping to appear casual.

Junhong looks at him then with a facial expression that indicates that he never even wasted one thought on it.

“Well it's because,” He waits for Yongguk to turn towards him completely, before continuing seriously, “You're just too cute to be called Hyung!”

He runs away before Yongguk can hit him again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay guys I know it's been like forever, but I was just so frustrated because of my other story that I didn't write anything T.T The chapter just never turned out how I wanted!  
> Now it's here though! I'm a little rushed because I'll leave for the holidays tomorrow. I'm sorry :(  
> Anyway I hope you'll like this chapter and a huge thanks for all the nice comments and kudos, they make my day <3  
> If you want to take a look, here's my other story: http://archiveofourown.org/works/7376746  
> If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them. :D


	5. Chapter 5

The morning starts out calm.

Yongguk wakes up slowly, easing his way up out of the land of dreams and into consciousness, where a very warm and very _wet_ tongue drags repeatedly over his left cheek. He opens his eyes reluctantly, sluggishly blinking until his vision stops blurring. Another quick lick over his cheek and dangerously close to his eye forces him to finally move. He grabs the tiny culprit on his chest by the neck to push him off, however it only leads to the puppy happily squeaking – probably expecting to get petted.

“You're annoying,” Yongguk huffs, but pets the dog anyway, “Why are you already awake? We could've slept some more.” The puppy only wags his tail in response and nibbles a little on Yongguk's finger.

“You're hungry aren't you?” He sighs, running a hand through his hair, “Yeah, I figured.”

Mochii scrambles off of the bed, barking loudly and sprinting over to the door to scratch against the dark wood and hence motivate his owner to open it.

Yongguk slips back into his pants and pulls on a warm sweater over his light sleeping-shirt before opening the door. The puppy next to him sniffs the air around them expectantly and shuffles quickly forward to explore their surroundings. Yongguk watches with a soft smile as the tiny thing clumsily tries to walk down the stairs, but falls on his nose more often than not. It's adorable really, but Yongguk can't help and ponder about the fact that he can't take the dog with him and Junhong if they decide to move on. He sighs, grabbing Mochii and lifting him up to walk the rest of the stairs without the puppy hurting itself.

“There we go,” Yongguk smiles, “Don't go too fast.” Mochii yips excitedly and runs off the second his tiny feet touch the ground, just as expected. Yongguk rubs a hand over his face to try and wake himself up some more as he slowly pads into the kitchen.

“Morin',” He mumbles and holds a hand up to block his eyes from the sunlight that floods the already bright room.

“Already up?” Himchan turns around to let him see his quirked eyebrow before he cracks another egg into the frying pan. “Are those real eggs?” Yongguk eyes widen at the sight.

“Yeah, I gathered them an hour ago, so they're still fresh,” He points to the bowl beside the stove, which is filled to the brim with brown and white eggs. The smell is mouthwateringly.

“Can I have some?” Yongguk asks and pries over Himchan's shoulder to watch the food sizzle in the pan. “Obviously. Who do you think I'm making this for? We can't eat stuff like that everyday, but I haven't seen Junhong in forever. We need to celebrate.”

“And what about me?”

“I see you enough.”

“Whoa ouch,” Yongguk whines and sits down at the kitchen table, “That hurt.”

Himchan only rolls his eyes and silently turns the eggs around when Junhong enters the room, looking awfully good in his tight shirt and loose pajama bottoms. He yawns and rises his arms over his head in the process, fully displaying his beautiful biceps in all it's glory and Yongguk can't help but stare.

“Good morning,” Junhong ruffles his hair and slides into the booth next to Yongguk, “Did you sleep well?” His teeth shine a brightening white as he gives Yongguk a sleepy smile, “Hey are you alright? Your face is all red,” He leans in and gently places a hand on the other man's forehead. And Yongguk immediately panics, pulling away quickly and looking down to hide the growing red stain on his cheeks, “I'm fine!”

Junhong opens his mouth to say something, but gets interrupted as Himchan places two glasses full of some kind of powder drink in front of them, “Just in case one of you is thirsty.” He shoots Yongguk a pointed look before returning to the stove again.

Junhong smiles softly at Yongguk after throwing a quick 'thanks' in Himchan's direction, “Where is our child?”

“First of all, don't call him 'our child' and secondly he's probably strolling around here,” Yongguk slowly takes a sip from his drink, noting with great delight that it tastes like some kind of grapefruit juice.

“Aww you're still in denial,” Junhong coos at him and slides out of the booth before Yongguk can react and probably punch him. “I'm gonna get the dog food for him,” He states and quickly climbs the stairs up.

“Your child?” Himchan asks, clearly very amused by the whole situation, “Is he talking about the dog? Is there anything I might need to know?”

“He's talking about the dog,” Yongguk huffs, rubbing a hand over his face, “And no, there's nothing you need to know. He just does all this weird shit to tease me – I don't know it probably amuses him. I just don't know what his goal is.”

“Oh, I see it very clearly,” Himchan snickers, placing a plate with two eggs on it in front of Yongguk and a second one with the same amount next to him, “You look like a blushing thirteen-year-old next to him, you know? It's pretty cute.”

“I am not cute!”

“You totally are,” Junhong responds casually from where he's leaning against the railing with a big can of dog food in one hand and a tiny brush in the other one, “Mochii come to Daddy!”

“Daddy,” Himchan chuckles, turning off the stove and slumping down on the chair opposite to Yongguk with his own plate, “You really hit the jackpot there.”

Yongguk hides his head in his hands. “Shut up,” He mutters to the tabletop, looking mortified. “Of all people, why him?” He glances up ruefully through his fingers to watch as Junhong pours some dog food into a tiny bowl.

Himchan doesn't even try to hide his smug smile, “Junhong your food's gonna get cold, come on over!”

Junhong reluctantly looks up from where Mochii sits in front of him with his snout buried deep in the bowl, “Coming!”

They chat lightly while eating. Yongguk and Junhong tell Himchan what happened when they where away – obviously Junhong has a lot more to talk about.

“And the electricity was still running – so I thought, why not?” Junhong shrugs, “And then I got stuck in the elevator. That was a real shitty day.”

“You got stuck? Which kind of idiot uses an elevator in a zombie apocalypse?” Himchan asks, one eyebrow raised.

“In my defense, the electricity in the building was always running fine, except for that one time I decided to use the elevator...well and then it just happened.”

“How the fuck did you get out of there?”

“Well I climbed up to the next floor and fought my way out.”

“See, I told you that guy is famous around here,” Himchan looks at Yongguk and points in Junhong's direction, “He does shit like that _all the time._ Nearly everybody who comes by knows some kind of story involving 'Zelo'.”

“Don't listen to him,” Junhong whines and leans closer to Yongguk, “These are just legends. I only did a fraction of the shit people say I did.”

Himchan throws a look in his direction and continues, “Someone once told me that Junhong climbed down the exterior of a building with only a tiny rope as backup.” He exhales loudly and fixes Junhong with a withering glare, “Now, is it true or not?”

“I mean...it's not exactly _wrong_.”

Yongguk is speechless while Himchan only sighs.

“Wow, you're a real freak and we're all really impressed,” Jongup teases, “But unfortunately I could use some help, so you guys have to do your bonding another time.”

“Babe~” Himchan slides up next to Jongup and sneaks a hand around his waist, pouting for extra effect, “Can't we do that later?”

Jongup gives him a meaningful look and says in a pained voice, “No, we always procrastinate. We really need to get it done today.” Himchan pulls a face, but complies nonetheless, “Okay whatever.”

“Can we help?” Junhong questions.

“That would be really nice,” Jongup smiles sheepishly, “I need some stuff from the stores downtown. I'll make you guys a list.”

“Sure no problem,” Junhong gives them a charming smile, “We'll get ready straight away, right?” He grabs Yongguk's wrist gently after said one nods hesitantly and bolts up the stairs. “Wait!” Himchan calls after them, “I'm pretty sure there's gonna be a summer storm soon. You guys better prepare accordingly and once it starts raining you head back immediately. Believe me, rain and zombies aren't the best combination.”

Junhong answers in a completely serious tone, “Of course. We'll be careful.” Then he pulls Yongguk up to his room and instantly starts packing stuff. “You think we need this,” Junhong asks and holds up some kind of raincape.“Why in the world do we even have this?” Yongguk scrunches up his nose. Junhong shrugs and packs the raincape anyway.

They leave shortly after Jongup came up to their rooms to give them an admittedly long list of the stuff they still need. “Be careful today,” He surveys both of them with genuine concern, “The weather is really no joke today. It's super windy and stormy. You need to watch out.”

“We always do, Hyung. Don't worry so much, I promise I'll look after Yongguk,” Junhong slides an arm over the older male's shoulders and ignores his following sigh.

Jongup just shakes his head with a big grin adorning his face, “I'm sure you will.”

*~*~

“Whoa, Jongup sure didn't exaggerate when he said it's windy today,” Junhong shouts over to where Yongguk walks beside him, desperately trying to read the map Himchan handed them before they left. “What?” Yongguk shouts back, clutching the map tightly while another gust of wind blows by them.

“Never mind. Do you know where we have to go?” Junhong leans down to his ear, in order for Yongguk to understand him. “I'm not really sure,” Yongguk answers and blushes as Junhong slides his hands over the smaller male's to hold the map steady.

“I think we need to turn right,” Junhong muses, looking around for some kind of sign that could help them. All the while Yongguk studies him closely, trying not to be too obvious about it as he watches the way Junhong bites his bottom lip in thought. He just hopes that the deep red stain on his cheeks goes unnoticed. _What the hell is wrong with you? You don't even know that guy!_ , Yongguk scolds himself quietly. “We probably shouldn't go right, that's the main entrance to the shopping district – it's gonna be packed with zombies.”

“Right,” Junhong pauses and looks over the map once more, “A side-street might be better.” He nods more to himself than to anyone else, before slowly withdrawing his hands. Yongguk can't help the tiny disappointed sigh that escapes his mouth – he just hopes that Junhong couldn't hear it over the incredibly strong wind.

They decide on a path that is a little shorter than the original one, but unfortunately also very poorly shielded, which is a hell of a lot more uncomfortable since it started raining a few minutes ago. The wind blows even stronger once they reach the river and Yongguk fears he might actually get blown away. “Shit!”, Junhong curses loudly, “I can't see a fucking thing!”

“Same over here,” Yongguk shouts back and briefly wonders when he and Junhong got separated, “Maybe we should head back. There's no point in even trying to find the way with weather like this!”

“Yeah, you're right!” Junhong gets interrupted as another blow of wind forces both of them to stumble closer to the riverside, “Shit, we need to get out of here fast.”

Yongguk opens his mouth to answer him, but gets interrupted as several loud groaning noises echo between the buildings. It doesn't take long for Yongguk to make out the source of the sounds. The streets that lead away from the river are packed to the brim with zombies. They are seemingly forced by the wind to walk into their direction. Junhong screams something, but Yongguk can't hear him over the blood rushing in his ears.

His heart is suddenly beating fast enough to make it feel like it'll burst out of his ribcage any minute now and somehow his body doesn't want to move at all. Yongguk's inside swell with panic. He doesn't want this to be the last time he sees Junhong or Himchan or Jongup or even the fucking dog. He can't believe this is how he's going to die – out of all the ways he could've died it had to be by goddamn undead people. Yongguk wants to scream, his mouth opens, but no noise comes out. He can't speak, he can't get the words out.

“Guk!” And suddenly Junhong's face pops up right in his field of vision. He grabs Yongguk's shoulders and shakes him repeatedly, “Come on, we need to go!”

And Yongguk?

He's still in denial. None of it is real. It all feels like some fucked up dream and he hopes he'll wake up soon with the tiny puppy in his arms and a warm blanket draped over him.

“Shit!” Junhong swears loudly, shaking him harder this time and screaming loudly, “Move! Yongguk, you _need_ to move, now!” Yongguk only wonders why Junhong looks so concerned? This is all a dream, it's no problem, they're going to wake up soon anyway.

The rain is still pouring down on them when Junhong's wet (and very attractive) face moves closer to Yongguk's, and said male can only wonder why he suddenly looks so determined.

Junhong swallows thickly, Yongguk can see his Adam's apple bob before he whispers a tiny 'I'm sorry', and then his lips land on Yongguk's. Wet and hot and so _so_ good. It's a short kiss, just a firm press of lips against lips – nothing special, but still. Yongguk feels as if he breathes again for the first time since they've arrived at the river. His whole body is on fire and his mouth burns where Junhong's rested a moment ago. He blinks dumbly, finally awoken.

Junhong stares him right into the eyes, “Are you finally awake? Let's go!” He doesn't wait for Yongguk's response, just grabs his arm and half-drags him over to the railing. “We need to jump!” He screams over the groans and huffs of the approaching zombies.

“I can't swim,” He yells after Junhong, who's already half over the railing and has both arms outstretched to help Yongguk climb over it. “We have no other choice,” Junhong grabs Yongguk's waist and hauls him up to his side, “You need to hold onto me. Whatever happens – don't let go!” They sit next to each other, behind them zombies, in front of them a torrential river and Yongguk can't decide which is worse.

For a very short moment Yongguk contemplates to not jump, but then Junhong grabs his hand and intertwines their fingers, “Ready?”

“No.”

Junhong chuckles nervously, before inhaling deeply, “Go!” He jumps, hand still tightly holding onto Yongguk's, who gets pulled along.

At first it feels like flying – there is nothing, only the warm, wet fingers around his own, that remind him that this is indeed not a dream. Then he hits the water, and the pain is worse than anything he has ever felt before. It's a strong impact, knocking all the air out of his lungs and leaving him painfully gasping for oxygen underwater. Only when his arms flail around frantically does he realize that he lost Junhong. Panic overcomes him and with every passing second it gets harder to breath. He has already swallowed several gulps of water and he feels his lungs burn painfully from it.

Just as he thought he's going to drown, a warm arm wraps around his waist and pulls him up until he emerges from under the surface of the water. Yongguk coughs and splutters and desperately tries to inhale, but his head dips underwater every few seconds because of the strong current and hence makes it impossible for him to catch his breath. “Hold onto me,” Junhong grips him tightly, “Wrap your arms and legs around me.” And Yongguk tries, he really does, but he doesn't have enough energy left. His head continues to dip underwater for longer times now and he feels his consciousness slowly dwindle.

“Gukkie, stay with me. Come on, you need to stay awake!” To Yongguk the taller male's voice sounds muffled and so far away that he doesn't even register the words. The rational part of his brain tells him to keep his eyes fucking open, but the rest of his body tells him something completely different. “Please Gukkie,” Junhong's face is right in front of his own and Yongguk wonders if he's going to get kissed again – he certainly wouldn't mind. “Please, stay awake,” Junhong begs, fighting against the current, “I'm gonna get us out of here, you just have to hang on.”

Yongguk can't remember what happens next. His vision blacks out every so often and his arms seem to give out as well as his legs, but somehow he keeps his head mostly over water until Junhong gets hold of a branch near the riverside and manages, with a great display of strength, to pull both of them out of the water.

They lay there for a while. Yongguk wheezing and gasping and coughing while Junhong breaths hard next to him and it doesn't seem to get any better as time flows by.

A few minutes pass and Junhong's breathing becomes somewhat regularly again unlike Yongguk's, who's still feeling like he'll cough out his lungs any moment. “God Yongguk,” Junhong huffs, sitting up and robbing over to rub his back, “You're doing great. Let it all out.”

It takes a good ten more minutes until Yongguk's able to even croak out a word, “I-I...need to-” He gets caught off as another fit of coughs wracks his body. “W-where are we?” Yongguk asks slowly, leaning into Junhong's side as exhaustion makes his eyes fall shut again and again. “I don't know,” Junhong looks around, studying their surroundings, “But we need to find shelter and we need to make a fire and get dry immediately.”

“Can you stand?” He turns questioning eyes in Yongguk's direction.

“I don't know,” The smaller male experimentally pushes himself up with Junhong's help. His knees feel wobbly and he doesn't trust them to carry his complete weight. “Here get on,” Junhong turns around and crouches down. Normally Yongguk would politely decline the offer, however he feels so weak and his urge to sleep is strong enough to make him forget about his pride for a moment. Before he even realizes that he did it, his arms are already around Junhong's neck and his head rests against the taller male's head. Then the world goes black.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hiii~~ T.T  
> I know it's seriously been forever this time, but I had no time at all! Exam season again and stuff -.-  
> But I'm back now! :D And I also finally finished my other story, if you want to take a look: http://archiveofourown.org/works/7376746  
> Now, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter and I'm sorry for the long wait. :(  
> If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them. :D And thanks to all you guys who left kudos and comments! <3


	6. Chapter 6

The first thing Yongguk realizes when he wakes up is that the rain must have picked up. It's pouring down on his head and shoulders relentlessly. He lifts his head and opens his eyes slowly to take a look, but is forced to close them immediately because it _hurts_.

The second thing he notices is that he feels a strange combination of too hot and too cold at the same time. Yongguk shivers because it's so chilly, but at the same time he wants to rip his clothes off his body and jump into a bathtub filled with ice. He's confused and a little scared and every single bone and muscle in his body aches when he tries to move.

“Thank god, you're awake” Junhong tells him quietly as he squirms around a little, “For a moment I thought you died on me.” His arms tighten their hold around Yongguk.

“W-where are w-we?” Yongguk asks, opening his eyes despite the heavy downpour.

“I don't know,” Junhong sighs tiredly, and Yongguk guesses that if he could he would rub a hand over his face, “I've been looking for a hide-out for at least half an hour – if not a whole hour, but nothing! _Nothing_. Not even a goddamn cave!”

“If this goes on like this, we're going to catch a fever,” he says lowly and pauses as the path in front of them splits into two beaten tracks, which both lead into completely different directions. Junhong shrugs and takes the left path, “You know what they say: When nothing goes right, go left.”

“You're going to kill us,” Yongguk chuckles over Junhong's carefree attitude, but he's definitely not going to complain since he doesn't have a better idea of how they're going to decide their further actions either.

“I think we're doing a pretty good job at that already,” Junhong snickers quietly.

“You're probably ri–” Yongguk doesn't finish the sentence as a sudden wave of nausea hits him. His vision blurs and there's blood rushing in his ears, clouding whatever response Junhong is trying to form.

“– kay?” He sounds frantic.

“I think I already have a fever,” Yongguk mutters more to himself than to anyone else. And he doesn't know what he's expecting from sharing this information, but Junhong going pale and stopping abruptly in his tracks is definitely not it. “Shit,” he curses loudly and quickly walks up to the next tree, “I'm going to let you down now, okay Gukkie? Can you stand?”

To be completely honest, he isn't so sure about that. His legs feel weak and wobbly and he fears that he'll have to puke if he moves too suddenly. He settles on, “Let's try it.”

Junhong nods curtly, before crouching down, “Okay, I'm going to let go of you now.” The moment Yongguk's feet hit the ground he feels his knees give out from under him. Luckily Junhong is fast enough to catch him, “Whoa there!”

Junhong helps him lean upright against the tree since Yongguk doesn't have enough energy and strength left to do so.

The taller male gently places a cold hand against Yongguk's hot forehead, feeling his body temperature.

“Shit, you're burning up!” Junhong exclaims and retracts his hand rather quickly, “We need to get out of this damned rain.” He stands abruptly, eyes closed and hands balled into fists. “Okay, we need to think.”

“Good idea,” Yongguk supplies. He tries to go for a light tone to lift the other male's spirits and calm his worries, but his voice sounds hoarse and cracks after only two words. Junhong looks even more appalled now and Yongguk feels something contract in the pit of his stomach. It's an uncomfortable feeling and he's probably not even supposed to feel it.

“Okay first of all we need to fi-” Junhong starts to explain, but Yongguk's world turns black again right this instant.

*~*~

“Yongguk, you need to wake up,” a hushed voice says as big hands gently shake him awake. He forces his eyes open and blinks a few times while his eyes try to adjust to the darkness. There's a shadow hovering over him.

“Take this,” the shadow – Junhong says, “It's medicine.” He grabs Yongguk's hand and carefully places a pill inside his sweaty palm.

“I got you some water,” he continues and holds out a big bottle for Yongguk to take.

Everything is happening too quickly for him to understand what's going on. His mind is foggy and slow and he's feeling unbearably hot and sweaty. He must reek too.

“What's going on?” Yongguk looks around, but can't make out more than simple shadows since his eyes haven't adapted to the darkness yet, “Where are we?”

“A house near the woods,” Junhong explains, “Now take your medicine and drink that bottle and I'll tell you what exactly happened.” Yongguk whines loudly – he doesn't even mean to. He just can't help but express his clear dissatisfaction as he takes in the size of the pill. Yongguk really doesn't know if he's even able to swallow it without vomiting.

His heart is pounding heavily inside his chest while he swallows the medicine and some water with it.

“Are you hungry or cold?” Junhong asks him before shuffling around as if he's searching for something. “I found some blankets and other stuff.” He pauses for a second and looks up, taking in Yongguk's pale face and hunched position, “Are you okay, Gukkie?”

“No, I-I don't feel so great,” Yongguk answers quietly, tugging the blanket up to his chin, “It's suddenly so cold.” There's sweat rolling down the back of his neck, obviously indicating that it's not actually cold, but Yongguk's body apparently doesn't think so.

Junhong's extremely quick in wrapping another blanket around Yongguk's frame, before urging him on to take another sip from the water bottle. “You need to stay hydrated – you sweat too much,” he explains and cards a gentle hand through Yongguk's wet hair.

Said male feels his cheeks redden immediately and he's not sure if it's because of the fever or the intimate gesture. He coughs and changes the subject, “What happened after I passed out?”

Junhong replies to his question only after he made sure that Yongguk starts eating the protein bar, which he pressed into his hands, “Well, I carried you through the woods like before. And then I saw a road and followed it a few kilometers until I reached the next village.” He gestures around widely, “This was the first house I could find with doors that can still be locked.”

“A few _kilometers_?” Yongguk gasps loudly, “How long was I out?!”

“About four hours?” Junhong drawls, furrowing his eyebrows as if he's thinking about it very seriously.

“ _Four_ hours?!” Yongguk gasps even louder this time and sits up abruptly, which only leads to him falling over a second after.

“Don't move,” Junhong commands with a stern look on his face and softly shoves Yongguk until he lies down again, “I found a medicine cabinet and all the other stuff a few houses down the road – we won't have to worry about starving to death for now.”

“But...I'm worried about your fever,” Junhong drawls, placing the back of his right hand carefully against Yongguk's forehead “If it doesn't go down in less than two days we'll definitely have to find either a doctor or a pharmacy. You'll need something stronger than what you just took.”

“I'm sure it'll be fine?” Yongguk asks, sounding completely and utterly unsure with his response. Junhong only huffs at him and pinches his cheek pretty hard, “Of course you'll be fine. You're with me and nobody's ever died on me and I don't plan on it happening right now.”

“Okay?”

“Also,” Junhong continues, “Our baby needs a mommy and I can't be both – the daddy and the mommy.”

Yongguk sighs loudly, “You know, sometimes I just want to push you off a cliff.”

“Do you think he's doing well? Are Himchan and Jongup giving him enough to eat? I miss him already,” Junhong whines, totally ignoring Yongguk's earlier statement.

“I'm sure he's fine. Himchan and Jongup are going to take care of him,” he rolls his eyes in fake annoyance, “Why are you so attached already? We've only had him for about three days.”

Junhong scoffs, “As if you don't miss him.” He points an accusing finger at Yongguk, “Besides, I'm not the one who cuddled with him every night.”

Yongguk splutters loudly at that, “I didn't mean to!”

“Of course,” Junhong winks cheekily before pushing himself up with a loud groan, “You'll have to excuse me for a moment. I'm gonna check if all the doors are locked and if my traps are still intact.”

Yongguk's voice is hoarse when he asks in a surprised tone, “Traps?” In response Junhong looks at him as if he just said the most stupid thing he has ever heard, “Well...yes? You know just the usual traps you use to keep intruders out? Nothing too fancy, because I had to search for food and the medicine.”

“Okay I guess?” Whether it is for hunting animals or alarming him that zombies are nearby, Yongguk never really uses a lot of traps. Since he usually doesn't stay in one place for too long anyway, he finds them to be more of a hassle than an improvement in safety.

“Seriously? You use no fucking traps? How did you even survive before I found you?” Junhong asks him incredulously, raising an eyebrow along the way to underline his statement.

“I just never thought about it I guess,” Yongguk shrugs, taking another sip from the water bottle, “I never had a problem with ambushes or anything.”

Junhong sighs next to him, rubbing a hand over his face and muttering something under his breath that Yongguk can't quite understand.

“You're really damn lucky then,” he informs him, “But I'm not gonna take any chances. You wouldn't be able to recover if we got ambushed.”

“Stop acting like I'm weak!” Yongguk exclaims, pride obviously hurt. Junhong only snorts loudly at that and gestures towards Yongguk as if that's all he needs to know, before leaving the room quickly.

*~*~

He comes back about half an hour later, looking tired and lost in thought, but a concerned look promptly takes over his face when he sees Yongguk leaning against a wall. “Why aren't you sleeping yet? You need rest,” he asks, locks the door behind himself and settles down next to Yongguk.

“Can't sleep,” said male answers, fiddling with the blanket in his lap, “I feel like vomiting whenever I lay down.” Junhong studies him for a moment, before he throws an arm around his shoulders. And Yongguk can't help but shudder at the intimate gesture. He likes to think that he normally wouldn't lean into the taller male, but he's sick so he let's it slide for once.

“I guess it can't be helped,” Junhong smiles while he gently places a hand on Yongguk's head and forces it down to rest against his shoulder, “If you can't lay down, then we'll just have to do it this way.”

“I really don't think-” Yongguk starts, but gets cut off by Junhong. “Hush and just sleep already,” he says and rubs tiny reassuring circles over Yongguk's arm with his right hand. Meanwhile his left hand tugs up the blanket from Yongguk's lap to wrap it around both of them. “Just sleep,” he mummers, the sleep in his voice obvious enough that Yongguk shuts up immediately. Junhong must be extremely exhausted from their little water adventure and carrying him around all day. Yongguk suddenly feels guilty when he remembers how often Junhong saved his life already or just simply helped him. He hasn't really shown a lot of gratitude has he?

As Yongguk looks up into Junhong's peaceful sleeping face, he decides for himself that he's going to thank him big times once they have to part ways. Somehow, he hopes that this day will never come.

*~*~

“Yongguk...Yongguk...wake up,” a low voice whispers near his ear, it's more of a hiss actually, “Come on, wake up. We need to get out of here.” He feels a hand softly shake him repeatedly until he finally opens his eyes. Everything is blurry and he's shaking and sweating. It's so cold and hot at the same time. When he looks up, it's still dark outside.

“W-what's...what's going on?” Yongguk asks, trying to rub the sleep out of his eyes with the back of one hand while he makes an attempt with his other hand to shove the blankets off his body.

“People are coming,” Junhong simply says and throws all the things he can grab into his backpack, cursing when his zipper doesn't go up straight away. “Come on get up,” Junhong whispers, a little louder this time, “They're already in the house somewhere. We _need_ to go.”

Yongguk nods in agreement and pushes himself up slowly, afraid that if he goes too fast he'll fall over again. He thinks he feels better than yesterday, but he's not entirely sure – at least walking seems to work. “Take this,” Junhong orders, throwing a backpack in Yongguk's direction. He slings it over his shoulders quickly, not questioning why it feels exceptionally light.

“Ready?” Junhong asks, already climbing out of the window on the opposite wall. Yongguk whines loudly in response and wobbles over to him, “Why does this feel like a déjà vu?”

At this Junhong can't help but laugh quietly as he helps Yongguk climb over the windowsill, “Hurry, at least this time you won't have to swim for your life.”

“Yeah, because running when I can't run is so much better than swimming when I can't swim,” Yongguk whispers back with an eye roll and wobbles his way over to some bushes near the window. “I mean kind of, right? You can't drown from running,” Junhong shrugs with an easy-going smile.

“You're way too happy considering our situation,” Yongguk hisses back, crawling under the bushes painfully slow.

“Maybe I'm just relieved because you seem to be doing better,” Junhong retorts and thank god he's currently crawling behind Yongguk, because said male is as red as a tomato.

“Dude this house is _sweet_!” A loud voice exclaims and Yongguk has half the mind to shout a loud _dumbass_ , because who in their right minds think screaming during a zombie apocalypse is a good idea?

“Look at all the fucking food in here! There's even chocolate!” The guy adds.

“That's my chocolate,” Junhong pouts quietly next to him, and as if on an afterthought he adds, “I intended to share by the way.”

Yongguk rolls his eyes, “Nice try, but I can see your lie from over here and I'm not even looking.”

“Wow man, that hurts,” Junhong whines and Yongguk has to fight the urge to laugh and instead chooses to crawl forward in his slow pace. He's trying to shove a branch away with his left hand so it doesn't hit him in the face while he's crawling forward with his right hand. But obviously exactly that one little place where he puts his hand down is overgrown with some kind of prickly plant. He can't quite suppress the pained groan that forms in his throat. The voices inside the house go still instantly.

Luckily, Junhong reacts faster than Yongguk can, and covers his mouth before another noise escapes. “Shh,” he hisses quietly, unintentionally pressing his body close to Yongguk's from behind. And suddenly said male feels some kind of warm pool in the pit of his stomach and shivers travel down his spine. It's not a good feeling – at least not in this kind of situation.

“Did ya hear that?” The loud voice from before asks and Yongguk realizes with growing horror that the guy is standing right in front of the window and therefore nearly directly over where they're hiding in the bushes.

A, much quieter, voice answers, “If there's a window in your room and it's open, check outside. Someone could be hiding in the backyard.”

_Damn_ , Yongguk thinks as Junhong's grip around his arm tightens. The loud guy only really has to look down and he'll probably see Junhong's black hair. He's too tall for his own good and his head is probably poking out a little unless he lays directly on the ground. Yongguk hears some rustling and he can only guess, but he suspects that the guy is leaning over the windowsill.

“Shit! Youn-” The man screams and yanks back from the window. However he's not nearly fast enough. Yongguk has barely even realized that Junhong's warm disappeared from behind him when Junhong's already inside the house once again and has the stranger in a chokehold, knife pressed dangerously close against his throat.

“Drop it,” Junhong hisses and the blond man immediately drops his gun. It hits the ground with a loud clattering noise, which, in Yongguk's opinion, echos way too loud in the otherwise completely silent house. “Gukkie,” Junhong breaks the silence, “Come back inside where I can see you. And you-” He tightens his chokehold for a second, making the other person gasp for air, “Call your friend and tell him not to try anything funny.”

“O-okay...I just n-need to...b-breath!” He wheezes, clawing at the arm around his neck. “Oh right,” Junhong exclaims, loosening his grip a little, “Now go ahead.”

“Y-youngjae, I'd really very fucking much appreciate you showing yourself now. And don't fuck this up, _please_!” While the blonde calls for his companion, Yongguk carefully climbs inside the room, desperately ignoring the wave of nausea that hits him when he moves too fast. Apparently his fever isn't gone completely, which is just as he expected, because no fever just disappears after a day – despite him really hoping for it.

“I swear to fucking god, Daehyun...if I could, I would kill you myself, in all honesty. How the fuck did you manage this again?” The other stranger, Youngjae, asks. Yongguk instantly notes that the calm state of his voice indicates that they've been through a lot of situations like this. Now he's even more alarmed than before. Just as the thought passes his mind, Youngjae steps into the room and he's holding a gun up, looking ready to use it if he has to.

“Drop the gun,” Junhong demands, nodding his head at Yongguk to get behind him. Said male complies eagerly (or really as fast as he can), slipping behind him and the stranger.

“Sorry, no can do.”

“Well...drop your gun or I'm gonna cut this guy's throat open,” Junhong states with a cold voice, which leads to Yongguk flinching a little since he has really only once heard Junhong use this certain tone before.

Youngjae only shrugs a little, keeping his face neutral, “Go ahead. He's annoying anyway.” The response makes Yongguk nearly topple over in surprise. Aren't they partners? How can he say (or rather lie) like this while keeping such a straight face?

“What the fuck Youngjae?!” Daehyun exclaims, but it seems like he's not as angry as he's just sulky, “Why are you always so mean? Unfair!”

Junhong sighs loudly, hence interrupting Youngjae's next answer, “As I thought.” He lowers his knife slowly – careful not to make any fast gestures, that Youngjae might see as a threat. “They're totally harmless,” he sighs again, pushing Daehyun forward until said one can shuffle behind his partner. “That's it?” Youngjae asks, one eyebrow arched questioningly, “You're just gonna let us go?” He slowly lowers his gun, slipping it back into it's holster.

“I mean yeah,” Junhong shrugs, “Unless you disagree?” He looks back at Yongguk with big eyes. And for a moment Yongguk wonders what Junhong will do if he says that he disagrees. Will Junhong kill them? Is he even able to kill them? Yongguk doesn't need to think about this question for too long. Junhong can obviously kill them easily and quickly. Because as far as Yongguk knows, he still has his gun hidden somewhere and something tells him that Junhong will be faster in drawing it than Youngjae.

However, he doesn't disagree, he kind of likes them actually. They are definitely an odd pair to look at.

He leans back against the wall with the window, drawing in a deep breath. Now, that the adrenalin is leaving his system, he can clearly feel the throbbing pain in his hand and the exhaustion from moving while still being sick. “No problem at all,” he mumbles, closing his eyes as the room gets a little blurry.

“Shit, is it getting worse again?” Junhong's in his personal space in an instant, frowning and worrying his bottom lip, while he holds a hand against Yongguk's forehead.

“Is he sick?” Daehyun asks, just as Youngjae pulls his gun out again, hissing lowly, “Was he bitten?!”

Junhong glares at him with an expression that could kill and Yongguk's a little taken aback by how much the idea of Yongguk being bitten displeases him. “Put that thing away right now,” he growls, before turning to Yongguk again, expression growing soft immediately, “Do you wanna lay down? I can get you a blanket? Are you thirsty?”

Yongguk's so overwhelmed by the sudden attention that he can't answer right away. “Why are you just standing there? Go and lock the fucking doors,” Junhong orders with a voice that leaves no room for arguments. Daehyun and Youngjae look at each other for a moment, before shrugging. Then they're gone and it's only when Yongguk hears a lock click in place, that he realizes, that they're _actually_ locking the place.

“Wow,” he drawls, gradually slipping down the wall, “That was wild.” In front of him Junhong cracks up softly, “Stop saying that with such a monotone voice!” He cards a gentle hand through Yongguk's hair and the gesture is comforting and warm and Yongguk will never say it out loud, but he feels weirdly protected right now.

“Sometimes I think you're secretly 80 years old. At least you sleep as much.”

“Excuse you,” Yongguk says, but his response is already kind of mushed, because his head keeps falling forward and his eyes keep falling shut all the damn time!

Junhong chuckles loudly, “It's already around 3 am and you still need to rest.” He throws a blanket over Yongguk's body as said one struggles to stay awake.

“But what about you? And those two guys...can I really leave you alone with them? What if-”

“What if what?” Junhong snickers, “Sorry to break it to you, but you're in no shape to be helping me and besides do you really think they'd be able to do anything to me?” He snorts as if that's the most funny thing he has ever heard. “And although it's very cute that you're worrying about me, like very _very_ cute by the way, there's no need for it. Relax and close your eyes, Gukkie.”

Yongguk sighs, but reluctantly does as he's told, while completely ignoring the fact that he's still tightly holding onto Junhong's hand.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh wow, I totally forgot that it's been since I uploaded this story! Sorry, guys! :( But as an apology, I made this chapter a little longer than the last one! :D Forgive me!~~ <3  
> A huge thanks to all you guys who left comments and kudos, I'm really happy that you seem to enjoy the story! <3  
> If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them. :D


	7. Chapter 7

Yongguk wakes up dry heaving. His chest constricts painfully and his airway closes off as his body shakes silently. He feels dangerously close to vomiting, but can’t bring his body to move. The room is spinning, which makes his eyes basically useless, and the pressure in his ears makes it hard to understand anything around. The only thing that seems to be working just fine (maybe even _too_ good) is his sense of touch, since the hand that’s suddenly resting on his shoulder feels really cold and makes goosebumps appear on his skin.

“-kay?” A high voice squeaks over the ringing noise in Yongguk’s ears. “Oh god, what should I do? Can you breath? Can I do anything to help you? I should probably call Junhong! Can I leave you alone for a bit? You good?” Daehyun rambles quickly, obviously in panic, and Yongguk has trouble even understanding him. The hand on his shoulder suddenly disappears and he hears the loud stomping of shoes on wooden flooring and then Daehyun is screaming from somewhere inside the house, “Junhong!”

The hissed reply only takes a second. “Don’t scream! Do you _want_ them to break down the doors?” Just then Yongguk feels the blood rush through his ears again, but thankfully the voices seem to come closer and thus are still comprehensible for him.

“I-I didn’t mean to! I w-was just...there’s-”

“What’s wrong?” Junhong asks, his voice sounding completely unfazed despite Daehyun’s stressed out demeanor.

“Y-yongguk...he’s…,” Daehyun seems to not even be able to finish his sentence before Yongguk hears footsteps haste down the hallway.

“Gukkie?”

Yongguk opens his eyes painfully slow as a hand cradles his neck gently and helps him lift his head up. Junhong’s face is hovering above him. He looks worried and _beautiful_ and worried, but also _beautiful_. “Can you hear me? Are you alright? Does it hurt anywhere?” Yongguk struggles to keep his eyes open, and it’s really hard for him to even comprehend what Junhong is saying, hence his response consists of a short pained nod, that makes his head spin and his stomach constrict.

“Your fever is getting worse again,” Junhong informs him with the back of his hand softly resting against his forehead, “I think yesterday probably stressed you out too much.” He stands up abruptly without a word and for the tiniest moment Yongguk is seriously afraid that Junhong is going to leave him alone.

“You need to drink something,” Junhong is back a moment later, he crouches in front of Yongguk and holds out a water bottle and Yongguk can’t help the sharp relief immediately cursing through him. If he was able to think clearly, Yongguk might have been a little scared by how much he has already accepted Junhong as part of his life.

“Can you sit up a little more?” He questions and helps Yongguk maneuver himself into a better drinking position.

While the older man takes tentative sips from the water bottle and fights the urge to throw up, Junhong never takes his eyes off of him. Which only makes Yongguk more nervous.

“We definitely need to get you better medicine,” Junhong states in a tone that makes it clear that he doesn’t accept any objection, “I need to talk to Youngjae, maybe he knows where we can find a pharmacy.” He says the last part more to himself than to Yongguk, who immediately opens his mouth to protest. “You don’t need to-”

“Stop,” Junhong interrupts in a gentle tone, “I want to do this for you, so I’m gonna do it.” He ruffles Yongguk’s hair affectionately before standing up. “I’ll get Daehyun to stay with you here. If you need anything just tell him. He’ll get you what you want or call me or something. I’ll be quick I promise.” Junhong leans down once more and places a kiss on Yongguk’s forehead quick enough, that he doesn’t even know if it really happened.

Yongguk can’t quite bring himself to say the _Please don’t do anything stupid_ , out loud, but he really hopes Junhong can see it on his face when they lock eyes for an awfully long moment.

“You’ll be okay,” Junhong whispers softly, “I promise.” A moment later he’s gone and Yongguk is left alone to overthink and brood over the situation. Or more precisely: Yongguk is left alone to try and overthink and brood, but his eyes feel really heavy again.

*~*~

The first thing that comes to Yongguk’s mind when he wakes up again, is that he doesn’t even remember falling asleep and that the room is still way too hot. The second thing he notices is Daehyun sitting right next to him, with his head half resting on Yongguk’s shoulder and half against the wall. He looks kind of cute like this – face all scrunched up and cheeks slightly pink, Yongguk has to give him that. Actually, he looks more tired and exhausted than he did the last time Yongguk saw him. Which is...well... _weird_. It’s probably nothing, he thinks and shakes his head. The motion makes Daehyun stir and mumble something incomprehensible, before he sleepily blinks a few times and sits up.

He looks at Yongguk with one tired eye for a moment while he rubs the sleep out of the other one. Then suddenly his eyes widen and he grabs Yongguk’s face with both hands.

“You’re awake!” He exclaims loudly – borderline screaming.

“Y-yeah?” Yongguk replies and flinches as he hears his own broken and hoarse voice. He doesn’t really understand why Daehyun looks so surprised by the simple fact of him being awake?

“No you don’t understand!” He says, shaking Yongguk by his shoulders, “You’re awake! Finally!”

“What exactly do you mean by ‘finally’?” Yongguk asks, trying to free himself from Daehyun’s grip, but failing miserably since his arm muscles refuse to work with him on this.

“You slept nearly a whole day!”

It feels like all the air inside of Yongguk’s lungs gets punched out of his body in the blink of an eye. “I-I...what?” His question comes out in a breathy whisper that sounds way too out of character even for his own ears.

“You slept an entire day,” Daehyun repeats slowly, “Junhong and Youngjae left immediately after you two spoke and when I came to check on you, you were already sound asleep. So I left you to it. But when I came back you were still asleep and no matter what I did you only woke up for a few minutes each time and you were babbling weird stuff I didn’t understand. You couldn’t even drink or go pee without my help.”

Yongguk feels like he’s going to die. He quickly changes the subject, to spare himself from any more embarrassment, “Where’s Junhong?”

“Well...” Daehyun drawls and he fidgets around nervously, “I-I don’t really know?”

“W-what’s that suppose-” Yongguk starts, but gets interrupted as his airway closes up suddenly and he’s left gasping for air.

“Whoa hey!” Daehyun’s next to him again in an instant, clapping a hand on his back in an attempt to help, but it really only makes his back hurt even more, “Deep breaths, man. Try to calm down.”

Yongguk really can’t do anything else, so he draws in deep long breathes and his airway slowly but surely opens up again. His heart is still pounding hard against his rib-cage by the time he has finally managed to keep his gag reflex in check.

“You good now?” Daehyun asks concerned.

“Have been better, but thanks anyway,” Yongguk answers in a pressed tone and looks up at the other male from his hunched position, “So what’s with Junhong and Youngjae?”

He shrugs, “As I said, I don’t know. They left shortly after you fell asleep and that was about a day ago. And since then I haven’t seen them again.”

“Where were they going and why both of them?”

“I have no idea where to precisely, I just know that they wanted to visit a pharmacy. Oh! And Youngjae said that it’s not far from here. So they should be back soon, I suppose,” he shrugs again. “I’m not quite sure why both of them did go, but I think Youngjae knows the directions, obviously, and Junhong probably just wanted to make sure that he gets the medicine for you? That’s a seriously protective boyfriend you got there, I gotta say!”

“H-he’s not my...” Yongguk splutters loudly, “I’ve only known him for about a week!”

“No way!” Daehyun responds and shakes his head in disbelief, “I honestly thought you guys were a couple!”

“Yeah, we’re definitely not,” Yongguk doesn’t really know if the blush on his face is because of Daehyun’s assumption or because of how unbearably hot the room feels right now (probably both).

“Damn,” Daehyun states before standing up. “You wanna drink something? Or even better, eat? You haven’t eaten in two days, Junhong’s gonna kill me when he finds out,” he muses, handing Yongguk a water bottle and a minute later some protein bars.

“Aren’t you worried about them?” Yongguk asks while forcing down a protein bar and a few sips of water. He doesn’t feel like eating anything else.

“Of course I’m worried,” Daehyun sighs and sits down next to him again, “They should have been back long ago, but what exactly am I supposed to do? I don’t know where they are and even if I did, you are in no shape to come with me and I also can’t leave you so…”

“Why exactly don’t you just leave me behind?” Yongguk asks and regrets it a second later, because who in their right mind thinks saying stuff like that while being in the situation he’s currently in is a good idea?

“Youngjae likes you…so…I like you too. It’s quite simple,” he shrugs helplessly.

“Youngjae likes us? Are you sure?” Yongguk questions with one eyebrow arched. He can’t quite believe that Youngjae actually likes them. Tolerate? Yeah sure, but he didn’t seem particular thrilled to meet them.

“Believe me, if he didn’t like you guys, you would know it for sure,” Daehyun smiles, but unfortunately that doesn’t sound very comforting to Yongguk.

“Anyway,” he rubs his cold hands together to try and hide that they are shaking like a leaf, “What are we gonna do now?”

“Stay here, I suppose. We don’t have a lot of options,” Daehyun muses as he throws another blanket around Yongguk’s frame, obviously having noticed said one’s slight trembling, “Besides, I don’t think you’re up for anything else.”

Yongguk’s opens his mouth to protest, but changes his mind last second. He can feel his muscles spasm whenever he tries to move the tiniest bit and his heart is still racing even though he’s only sitting around. He really is in no condition to walk long distances. He doesn’t even know if he’s in any condition to walk to the other side of the room, “Yeah, that’s probably for the best.”

“Right,” Daehyun pauses for a moment as if he’s contemplating something, “Hey wanna play cards?”

“Cards?”

“Yes, cards,” he rolls his eyes as if Yongguk’s question was the most stupid thing he has ever heard, “I mean you could also go back to sleep, but I just thought with how much you’ve already slept...”

“Cards are fine,” Yongguk attempts to smile reassuringly up at Daehyun, “Although I’m probably not going to be the best at my game right now.”

Daehyun grins at that, “Oh shut up, man!”

*~*~

As it turns out, Daehyun is not very good at _Daihinmin_ or _Panzerknack_ , but he's ace at _Rummy_. So they stick with that particular game for the next few hours. It's way more fun than Yongguk expected. Sure, sometimes his arms become heavy or his eyes blurr and sting or his body heats up and cools down repeatedly and they have to pause for a few minutes, but it's still the most fun he has had in a long time. The game also helps to keep his mind off of particular other problems he has right now. Like for example the fact that Junhong is _still_ not back and he's seriously starting to get worried.

“You’re distracted,” Daehyun states the obvious and puts his last card away, “I won, again.”

Yongguk sighs in response and reshuffles the pack, “Junhong is still not back.”

“As well as Youngjae,” Daehyun points out helpfully, “Give them a little more time. I’m sure they’re already on their way back.”

“But what if they’re not?”

“We can’t change it anyway. Relax, I know Youngjae. He’s gonna come back,” Daehyun looks at him and places a hand on his shoulder with an easy-going smile on his face, “I’m sure he’s looking out for Junhong too!”

“Yeah, of course,” Yongguk snorts, “If anyone is looking out for the other, it’s probably Junhong for Youngjae.”

“Whoa, wait a moment there!” Daehyun throws his hands up in a dramatic gesture, “Are you _sure >_? Have you ever seen Youngjae in action? Junhong has nothing on him!”

“Well sorry to disappoint you, but if Junhong wanted he could easily handle Youngjae blindfolded and with one hand!” He answers passionately, the cards in his hands long forgotten.

“Are you mad?” Daehyun exclaims, “There’s no way! Youngjae is way stronger.”

“Uh no? Have you seen Junhong? He’s way stronger!” Yongguk says, throwing the card deck down on the floor.

“It’s not only about physical strength. Youngjae got the brains as well!”

“And Junhong doesn’t?”

“I didn’t say that!”

There’s a short moment of silence after Daehyun’s answer, wherein both men just look at each other with the same confused face, as if they cannot believe this just happened. Before both break out into a fit of laughter, that they try to suppress not a second later.

“Oh god, I’m so embarrassed,” Daehyun mumbles into his hands while he hides his red face.

“Same,” Yongguk answers from where he’s sitting hunched against the wall. The laughing fit kind of really exhausted him.

They stare at each other for a minute before saying in unison, “We should keep this a secret.”

“Deal,” Yongguk says, “Junhong would never let me live this down.”

Daehyun’s pained sigh is evidence enough that Youngjae would definitely do the same, “That sounded so weird right now. It was as if we were talking about our-”

“Don’t say it!” Yongguk interrupts him, desperately hoping that Daehyun won’t finish the sentence.

“Boyfriends!”

“Aaaand, you said it,” he sighs and hides his face in his hands, “How does Youngjae even put up with you?”

“Excuse you, Youngjae loves me! He just hasn’t realized it yet,” Daehyun muses, picking up the card deck and putting it back from where he took it. “He’ll realize it someday,” Daehyun mutters on an afterthought and quiet enough that Yongguk has trouble hearing it. He looks pitiful, Yongguk thinks, with his shoulders hunched and a defeated expression on his face. It doesn’t last long though, a second later Daehyun shakes his head and puts a big smile back on his face. He doesn’t look at Yongguk, pointedly avoiding his questioning gaze and Yongguk can’t help but think about how fake his smile looks.

“How about you eat another one of those protein bars, mhh?” The blonde makes it sound more like a command than a question. He sits down next to Yongguk, still not looking him in the eyes, and pulls out a few more bars from his backpack. He hands them over silently, completely ignoring Yongguk as he hesitates in taking them and instead observes Daehyun’s bleary eyes.

“I don’t thinks I can eat more,” Yongguk states after finishing one with already noticeable trouble. He feels like vomiting again all of sudden.

“Okay, if you say so,” Daehyun says, unconvinced, “but you need to drink some more then, alright? Junhong will probably really kill me if he finds out how little you ate.”

“I thought you’re not afraid of Junhong?” Yongguk asks, a small smile on his lips despite his cramping stomach.

“Oh, I wouldn’t call it afraid per se...I just have a healthy amount of respect for him,” Daehyun waves his hands around a little frantically and Yongguk can see right through his cover. He chuckles quietly, “You don’t need to be afraid of him, he’s really nice.”

Daehyun mumbles something under his breath, but he can only understand the words ‘likes you’ and ‘fucking scary’, so he chooses to ignore them.

“Besides,” Yongguk leans back against the wall, world spinning dangerously, “I’m pretty sure Youngjae wouldn’t let him kill you.”

Daehyun’s quiet for a moment and stares down at his shoes, “Least thing he can do.”

“Hey, how did you guys meet?” Yongguk asks to distract himself from the nauseating feeling in his stomach.

Daehyun gives him a sunshine smile in response, “We are childhood friends. Youngjae lived next to me until I was about eight, I think? His parents got divorced and his mom took him with her to Seoul. My parents send me to boarding school in Seoul a few years later and there we met again. And since then we’ve been together.”

“As like...a couple?”

“W-what?!” He splutters, choking on his own spit, “N-no! Why do you-” Daehyun’s face is bright red and his ears are wide-open as if he just got caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to do. “I told you-” A loud crash at the front door interrupts Daehyun’s rant abruptly.

He’s on his feet immediately and pushes Yongguk down, as said one tries to get up. ‘Stay’, Daehyun mouths at him, pulls out his gun and slowly makes his way over to the door. He opens it slightly and peers through the slit. Yongguk can’t see anything because Daehyun’s body is blocking everything, but he can hear how the blonde sucks in a lungful of air. Not a good sign.

“We need to get out of here,” Daehyun hisses after closing the door quietly and Yongguk sends his thanks to all gods that exist, that it doesn’t squeak, “Grab whatever you can.” He’s hectically throwing whatever he can find into his backpack while Daehyun’s doing the same. “Shit, shit, shit! Come on!” Daehyun curses and helps him get onto his feet, “Climb out of the window!” Yongguk nods, throws the backpack over his shoulders and wobbles over to the window with Daehyun’s help. His stomach cramps painfully and he feels like he’s going to barf as soon as he reaches the other side of the room. “Fuck, hurry up,” Daehyun whispers and pushes Yongguk none too gently, so that the older male falls out of the room into the yard with a quiet _thump_. He follows not a second later, feet hitting the wet ground way more gracefully.

“Quick,” he urges and winds one of Yongguk’s arms around his shoulder to support him, “We’ll make a run for it.” He doesn’t wait for Yongguk’s answer and instead chooses to start sprinting (or as close as they get to sprinting).

“W-wait,” Yongguk huffs, “S-slow down, I can’t-” His legs protest so much and he’s so tired that he almost starts crying. He stumbles over his own foot in an attempt to keep up with Daehyun and falls on his face.

“Are you okay?” Daehyun asks, lips pressed together tightly and eyes darting around the free space nervously. They haven’t quit reached the bushes on the other side of the backyard yet, which means they’re out in the free right now and especially vulnerable.

“Does it look like I’m fucking okay?” Yongguk snaps back and regrets it a second later, because he didn’t even mean to snap at Daehyun. His legs just hurt so much right now that he can’t really help it. When he looks up there’s one zombie on the other side of the yard slowly dragging his feet in their direction, then there’s two...three...four until a whole herd rounds the building and Daehyun’s eyes dart between Yongguk’s face and the zombies. Yongguk can’t help himself. There’s fear welling up inside him. What if Daehyun decides he’s not worth it? What if he leaves him behind as bait to save himself? Yongguk’s basically helpless right now and Daehyun knows this. But to his surprise Daehyun just balls his hands to fists and pulls Yongguk’s arm back over his shoulder. He can’t quite suppress the guilty feeling after that.

“No time,” he informs the older male and pulls him along despite his pained protests, “They broke down the door, there’s even more inside. We need to move, right now!”

Yongguk can barely hear the groans and heavy footsteps over the loud pounding of his own heart, but he realizes that they get louder with every passing second. The air seems to be suddenly filled with the smell of rotten flesh and blood. It stinks disgustingly and for a moment Yongguk doesn’t know if he feels like vomiting because of his fever or because of the smell.

When he looks up he sees another bunch of zombies closing in on them from the left, which only leaves the right side as a possible escape route. He feels Daehyun tense beside him. “We’re too slow,” he states, panic flooding his tone, “Shit! What are we gonna do? What are we gonna-over there!” The sudden scream makes Yongguk nearly fall over his feet again, but he catches himself just in time. “The tree house!” Daehyun exclaims and when Yongguk follows his outstretched arm with his eyes, he can indeed spot a tree house a few meters away. It’s high up in an old oak tree and looks relatively sturdy.

He can’t hear much else over the loud pounding of his heart as they desperately try to arrive at the woods before the zombies catch them. They’re so close – the zombies are louder than his heartbeat – _so close_...Daehyun’s hand grabs the ladder and he climbs up faster than Yongguk can even realize what’s happening. “GO!” Daehyun screams at the top of his lungs and Yongguk finally grabs the ladder too.

He tries to push himself up, but his legs give up from under him and he’s limply hanging against the wood, only his arms keeping him just out of range of the zombies. If a taller one comes... – just then a hand closes around his ankle and it’s as if a dead weight suddenly latched onto him. He screams and trashes against the hold, arms aching from the strain, making him slip further down the ladder.

He can practically feel one of these thing’s cold breath against his ankle – only a little more and he’s done for. He uses every last bit of strength he can muster – it’s not enough. _Shit...shit...shit!_

Daehyun’s hands wind around his forearms and start to pull.

Together, they finally manage to pull him up until he’s nearly completely on top of the platform. Just then Yongguk hears a sickening _crack_ and he feels the weight suddenly disappearing...the zombie’s arm broke off, he notes dumbly after looking down at himself. He robs further onto the platform and collapses next to Daehyun. The dead hand is still tightly gripping his ankle, but he doesn’t have enough willpower and energy left to pry it off.

“W-we...we s-survived!” The blonde states, disbelief clear in his voice. Yongguk can barely hear him over the growling under the tree. They’re trapped. There’s no way they can leave this place without help.

Junhong comes to his mind just then and Yongguk guesses that he’s never going to be able to find them here.

“For now,” he closes his eyes and hopes that the tears on his cheeks are just his imagination.

 _Oh shit_ , Yongguk thinks, _I miss him_.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> GUYS! I'm so sorry T.T...it's been like MONTHS! I had this chapter sitting on my laptop since forever! But I never found the time to upload :(((( I wrote two exams straight after each other last week and I'm beat! I'm really sorry! <3 But anyway, here it is now! I didn't have a lot of time to read over it again, though. I hope you'll like it anyway :D  
> A HUGE thanks to all you guys who left comments and kudos, I'm really happy that you seem to enjoy the story! <3  
> If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them. :D  
> Have a lovely day! <33


	8. Chapter 8

“Yongguk,” a low voice says, “You okay?”

Yongguk doesn’t turn his head around, instead he keeps looking up at the leaves shaking softly in the wind, “I don’t know. Are you?” Daehyun chuckles quietly at that, “Maybe, don’t know. I’m alive, that’s enough for me in the moment.”

“Mhh,” Yongguk hums, and closes his eyes again, feeling the wind cool his hot face, “How long has it been?”

Daehyun sighs and shields his eyes with his hands from the light that shines through the treetops, “At least two days. Your fever still there?”

Yongguk lifts a hand to his forehead in response. The skin is hot and sweaty there, “Yeah. How much food do we have left?”

“It could last another two days if we ration it,” he mumbles, closing his eyes again, “The zombies still there?”

Yongguk turns his head to the left. He doesn’t have to listen too closely to hear the groans under the tree, “Definitely.”

“You think Junhong and Youngjae are gonna find us here?” Daehyun rolls over to face Yongguk.

“I don’t know…they might?” He muses, running a hand through his sweaty hair, “We don’t have much of a choice.”

Daehyun sighs and sits up, the brittle places in the wood crackle dangerously while he does so, “Yeah, I guess we just have to trust them,”

They mostly stay quiet after that. There’s honestly not a lot to talk about and they don’t have any cards to keep themselves occupied with. Yongguk can’t tell if the time is going by fast or not. Nothing feels completely real if he’s honest with himself. Maybe it’s the fever that makes his skin and mind numb to what’s happening around him, but it could also just be a panic reaction, who knows? It’s not like it matters. Yongguk’s only choice is to sit around with the fever still burning hot in his veins and sweat drenching his shirt. He just hopes that they don’t starve to death before Junhong and Youngjae find them.

The days are scorching hot and the sun burns down on them relentlessly, the few trees around them barely provide any protection. Yongguk’s skin starts to itch and peel after the first day and by the second it’s pretty damn painful. Daehyun doesn’t look much better, his forearms are red and shed excessively. They don’t talk about that though, their mood is already bad enough as it is and Yongguk guesses that they both don’t want to smother their remaining hope.

Daehyun breathes a sigh of relief as the sun finally vanishes behind some clouds and Yongguk can’t help but agree with him. His arms feel like they’re on fire and his shirt is completely drenched. He can’t imagine staying here for much longer, but he also can’t leave. The knowledge leaves him feeling more exhausted than before. Yongguk doesn’t have any control over the situation, for the first time in forever. It frustrates him more than anything else.

“We should eat something, we haven’t eaten since yesterday” Daehyun whispers, but doesn’t attempt to actually get something to eat out of his backpack.

“Probably,” Yongguk drawls and blindly grabs for his own backpack. He manages to pull out some protein bars – his last ones to be exact. He throws one into Daehyun’s direction, who catches and unwraps it quickly. Yongguk takes a healthy bite himself.

“It looks like there might be a storm coming,” Daehyun says softly and Yongguk follows his gaze. The sky does look unusually dark, Yongguk has to admit, but the thing that actually worries him is that the clouds fly by quite fast. It really looks like another summer storm might be coming.

“You’re right,” he says, holding out a hand over his head and for a moment he actually thinks he can feel the electricity in the air.

“What are we gonna do when it hits?” Daehyun asks.

“What we always do,” Yongguk answers, letting his hand slowly fall back onto his stomach, “At least we can get some more water this way.”

Daehyun is quiet for a moment – clearly lost in his own thoughts, before he speaks up again, “If we get lucky the zombies might get irritated by the storm. Remember what you told me about that day you and Junhong had to jump into the river?”

The mention of the taller male’s name makes Yongguk smile softly without him actually meaning to. He turns his head away so Daehyun can’t see, because he knows that the blonde would tease him until his last day, if he saw. “It could be a possibility,” he muses, “But the wind has to be really strong for that to work. Back then Junhong and I couldn’t understand each other even though we were standing next to each other.” Daehyun looks at him for a moment. The sudden silence makes Yongguk nervous for some reason.

“Well then,” he smiles, but looks more sad than hopeful, which makes Yongguk’s heart clench painfully, “Let’s hope the storm comes soon and is even stronger than the one before.”

Yongguk doesn’t say anything as Daehyun softly grabs his hand and intertwines his shaking fingers with Yongguk’s.

“Yeah...let’s hope,” he breathes, and after a pause, “Let’s hope we see them again.”

Daehyun’s grip is so strong that it’s almost painful, but Yongguk doesn’t let go, he just presses back reassuringly.

*~*~

The clouds taunt them all morning – looking dark and gloomy and oh so promising when they fly by, but not a drop of rain falls. Yongguk honestly doesn’t know what’s worse, the fact that there might be a possibility that it rains or the fact that there might be a possibility that it doesn’t rain. Daehyun looks restless all morning. The way he’s pacing on the brittle wood makes Yongguk’s heart nearly leap out of his chest. It’s painfully obvious that the wood won’t stay put if the wind really starts to hit them. He just hopes that the zombies will be gone before that happens.

“Why is nothing coming down?” Daehyun questions and resumes to his anxious pacing, “Do you think it’ll start soon?” He doesn’t look like he really wants Yongguk to answer the question, but he does it anyway, “I think so. Look, the clouds are getting darker.” Daehyun follows his pointing finger with his gaze and observes a particularly big cloud.

He turns around a moment later to throw a wary look in Yongguk’s direction, “Are you even up for walking?” The question makes Yongguk’s nerves flare even more, although it’s not entirely unfounded. Yongguk hasn’t walked for the last three days. He does feel better today and his fever is manageable at the moment, but _still_. What if he’s not able to walk by himself? Or even worse, what if he can’t even climb down the ladder?

“I don’t know,” Yongguk drawls, “Let’s try?” Daehyun nods and stands close by the other man’s side as said one carefully gets up. His legs wobble a little dangerously as he takes a step forward and Daehyun’s arms are there immediately to stabilize him, but he denies the help and instead tries to take the next few steps by himself. Fortunately he succeeds.

Daehyun can’t suppress the little victory whoop, “You did it! Finally!” Before Yongguk can answer though, cold droplets of rain leak from the clouds and hit him right in the face this instant. Daehyun breaks out into one of the biggest smiles Yongguk has ever seen and the black-haired male just can’t help but smile with him. _Finally_ , he thinks and it feels like he’s breathing for the first time in forever.

It seems that with the rain the wind suddenly flared up as well. The old wooden planks crackle steadily, but the loud rain masks the sound nearly perfectly. Yongguk has never been more grateful for rain in his whole life. He watches with a smile as Daehyun outstretches his arms in a wide welcoming gesture and opens his mouth to catch a few droplets of water.

“I can’t believe this is actually happening!” He nearly screams over the incredibly loud noises around them, before he starts to focus on the living dead near them. The zombies under the tree groan loudly and stagger around a little disoriented, they are clearly confused as to where all the noise is coming from. Daehyun’s at his side in an instant, looking down at the mass of bodies with sheer _glee_ in his eyes, “It’s working! It’s actually working! Can you believe this?”

“No I really can’t,” Yongguk exclaims, gripping the wooden planks under his body as hard as he can while another gust of wind blows by. He and Daehyun, both filled to the brim with anticipation, watch as the zombies get slowly but surely stirred in one direction by the strong wind.

“Now’s our chance!” Yongguk screams, “If we wait any longer there’s just gonna be more zombies coming from the right side!” He hasn’t even completely finished his explanation when Daehyun’s already standing in front of the ladder with both their backpacks on his shoulders.

“I’ll go down first, so I can try and catch you if something happens!” Daehyun waits until Yongguk confirms his plan with a nod, before he turns around and quickly climbs down the ladder. He’s fast, Yongguk notes, faster than he’ll ever be in his current condition. And the platform is pretty high up, how is he supposed to get down there when he can’t even walk in a straight line? He shakes his head. Yongguk really shouldn’t think like this. It’s only going to make him even more nervous, and he absolutely can’t afford this right now – he needs to be highly focused.

“-ome down!”

Yongguk gets ripped out of his inner turmoil by Daehyun’s loud voice. The younger man has already finished climbing down to the ground and is now waving his hands and shouting excessively to get Yongguk’s attention. “Hurry the fuck up!” He’s screaming and gesturing to the ladder with a, to Yongguk, unknown urgency.

“I’m coming!” He calls back and hides the last of his worries in the back of his head. The wood feels wet and slippery under his fingers as he grips it. His feet shake when he puts one on the first board and slowly lowers himself down the next ones. It’s hard work and he can feel his muscles contract at the strenuous activity, which shouldn’t be a problem as long as they don’t give out from under him until he’s anywhere near the ground. He closes his eyes and tries not to think too much about how far the ground is still away. His arms ache more and more until Yongguk’s sure that they’ll stop working completely – not that it matters– because right this instant his hands slip from the wood and he’s falling.

Luckily, his fall is pretty short and he mostly lands on the soft, muddy earth and not on the hard gravel, but the shock must be pretty visible on his features, because Daehyun’s leaning over him with worry painting his face. “Are you alright? Anything broken or hurting?” The concern is very obvious in his voice, it makes Yongguk feel strangely safe – not as safe as he feels when Junhong’s around, but you have to start from somewhere, right?

“I think I’m alright,” Yongguk wheezes, grabbing the hand Daehyun offers him, “My back hurts a little, but I think I’ll manage.”

Daehyun relaxes visibly, scrubbing a hand over his wet face furiously and Yongguk doesn’t know why he’s doing this until he risks a closer look.

“A-are you...crying?” He asks carefully and his hand reaches out to touch Daehyun’s face before he can think about it twice, “Are you hurt?!”

Daehyun looks at him for a moment, before he starts laughing almost manically. Yongguk can’t help but feel a little indignant at that. What’s so funny about him being worried?

“Seriously, are you okay?” And something in his tone must have finally made Daehyun realize that laughing hysterically might not be the best option to soothe a panicking friend. Thank fucking god.

“I-I’m fine,” he hiccups, and gently grabs Yongguk’s hand in his, intertwining their fingers like he already did once before, “It’s just...we’re alive. We are alive!” He grins and throws their intertwined hands high up in the air, “We survived! And we’re finally, _finally_ off of this terrible fucking tree!”

The blonde smiles so widely that Yongguk fears for a moment his face may break, it looks _stupid_. He doesn’t have time to remind him of this fact though, because Daehyun grabs his hips in a fit of unsuppressed giddiness and adrenaline and twirls both of them around until Yongguk doesn’t know if his stomach churns because of sheer happiness or because he has to throw up. Either way, he feels more relieved than he can actually express.

“We’re free! We’re free, Yongguk!” He exclaims loudly, before he does something unexpected. The younger man unexpectedly pulls Yongguk into a tight hug without actually letting go of his hand. Yongguk can feel their clothes stick together thanks to the rain. However he doesn’t even have the time to think about hugging the blonde back, when a cold hand grips his shoulder and pulls him back. His fingers involuntarily detach themselves from Daehyun’s and he stumbles.

Fear shoots through his system immediately. He stiffens and panic claws at his chest, reaching all the way up to his throat, where it stops the scream that threatens to escape. He meets Daehyun’s wide, stunned eyes for the fraction of a moment, before he start trashing, trying to get away from the cold fingers that grip his shoulders.

Yongguk flails around with his arms – the fear inside him is way too strong for him to act in a controlled manner. His hand collides with something hard, but also... _warm_? And then there’s a pained gasp, the surprised intake of oxygen and not the expected low groaning.

“Calm down!” A voice says close to his ear, but Yongguk can’t seem to stop his flailing limbs, “Gukkie, please.”

Everything stops abruptly – Yongguk’s muscles, the strong wind, the rain and the blood that was rushing in his ears a second ago. Everything stops for him and Yongguk turns around slowly.

There, right in front of him is Junhong. Beautiful, _beautiful_ Junhong. With his damned dimple, and long legs and impossibly deep brown eyes, wearing that stupid fucking grin Yongguk hates so fucking much.

But nothing really matters, because Junhong’s _alive_. He’s alive and well and right here. He came back for Yongguk. He came back. _He’s here_ , is basically the only thought Yongguk can muster, closely followed by, _I missed you so fucking much._ When Junhong slides his hands, that were resting on Yongguk shoulders, down to his waist, he can’t seem to do anything else than to hold onto the taller male as if he’s drowning. “Holy...shit,” his voice sounds broken and hoarse even in his own ears, but he couldn’t care less right now, “Junhong, holy shit!”

Yongguk’s speechless after that and he effectively interrupts Junhong’s attempt at saying something when he throws his arms around Junhong’s neck and pulls and _pulls_ – until there’s no space left between them and their wet bodies stick together like one. He feels like he could cry from happiness, if he wasn’t already. He buries his face in Junhong’s neck and sobs quietly when the taller male tightens his hold around him.

The rain around them seems to be picking up and the wind blows strongly, but Yongguk doesn’t feel a thing since Junhong’s body is wrapped around his protectively, making him feel safer and calmer than he’s felt in the last two years. He can hear a loud, strong heartbeat, which makes his skin tingle and mind blank out completely from joy.

“I missed you. I missed you so fucking much, Gukkie,” Junhong whispers in a hoarse voice and one of his hands comes up to rest against the back of Yongguk’s head, holding it in place in a reassuring manner. “I…m-me too,” Yongguk barely stammers out, still too caught up in his own feelings. He can’t believe this is actually happening, it’s like a dream come true!

“J-Junhong,” Daehyun whispers behind them and something in his voice makes Yongguk break the embrace slightly. He leans back a little and for the first time takes in Junhong completely. He’s covered in dirt and dried blood, his shirt is ripped in several places and there’s a pretty big gash on the side of his neck, where Yongguk’s head didn’t rest. He looks like he’s been through a lot.

“Youngjae,” Daehyun breathes, it’s a broken sound with so many unsaid feelings swimming under the surface that Yongguk’s heart clenches painfully, “Where’s Youngjae?” The blonde takes a step forward, drawing in a deep breath. “W-where is he? Junhong, where is he?!”

Yongguk silently glances from Daehyun to Junhong.

The black-haired male is biting his lip and averting his gaze, “They took him.” He doesn’t say anything else after that.

“What do you mean they took him?! Who?” Daehyun shouts, desperation leaking out of his voice, “Answer me!” He staggers forward and grips the first thing he can reach – Junhong’s underarms. Yongguk can see how hard his fingernails sink into the taller male’s skin. Junhong takes a deep breath, obviously preparing himself, and finally starts explaining, “There was a group of raiders when we reached the pharmacy. We managed to sneak by them and steal some medicine, but they somehow still noticed and hunted after us. They even managed to catch us, but I was able to escape. Youngjae…he…he stayed.”

“You! You left him!” Daehyun shouts, fingers pressing in so hard, that he’s drawing blood from Junhong’s arms, “You left him there! Alone! How could you? You fucking piece of shit – he trusted you!”

“I said from the beginning,” Junhong whispers brokenly, “That Yongguk is my first priority. I told you! I didn’t leave him! He choose to stay!”

“He would never!” Daehyun screams back, “He would never leave me alone!”

“He wanted me to make sure that you’re safe. He said and I quote, ‘One of us has to get out of here quickly, because I know Daehyun, he’s probably in some kind of trouble again. Please look after him for me. Make sure that he doesn’t do anything stupid and stays safe. And tell him that he’s a dumb idiot and I love him.’” Junhong has to make several pauses to catch himself, because his voice gives out every so often. “He also said that you shouldn’t go back for him.”

“That fucking idiot,” Daehyun sobs, covering his eyes with his hands, “Of course I’m gonna come for him, he should’ve known that!”

Junhong gives him a small, strained smile, “He said that too, so he asked me to stop you if you try.”

“Youngjae knows me better than anyone else, what did I expect?,” Daehyun laughs dryly, “However, you won’t stop me, even if you try.”

“I know,” Junhong smiles gently and his eyes are filled with raw emotions, “I’m not planning on stopping you. If anything, I’m coming with you.”

Daehyun rubs his eyes furiously, trying to get rid of the tears, but he doesn’t say anything at the declaration.

“We’ll bring Yongguk back to Himchan’s, get some weapons and then I’ll kill those fuckers,” Junhong grits out through his teeth, clenching his hands into fists.

“I’ll come with you!” Yongguk interrupts, “Why would I wait at Himchan’s when Youngjae sacrificed himself for us?”

“Because you’re sick,” Junhong chides, “I don’t want you anywhere near these sorts of people.”

“If I feel better ‘til then, I will go,” Yongguk protests, “Youngjae is my friend too, and I can’t live with myself if he dies just because I was a coward.”

Junhong and Daehyun stare at him for a moment, before Junhong intertwines their fingers and presses softly, “Well said, Gukkie. Well said.”

Daehyun stares at the two of them, at their intertwined fingers and then looks up into the sky, blinking away the rain that falls on his face, “We’ll come for you, Youngjae. Wait for me.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys :D, don't worry I'm not dead!  
> First of all: I hope all of you had a super nice new year! (I know I'm late T.T) I wish you a lot of luck and everything good for 2018! <3  
> Sadly, exam season is starting in a few weeks again, so I won't have a lot of time to write, but I really wanted to bring out another chapter before I don't have anymore time *~* I'm really grateful that you guys are so patient with me <33  
> A HUGE thanks to all you guys who left comments and kudos, I'm really happy that you seem to enjoy the story! <3 If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them. :D  
> I wish you all a lovely day! <3


	9. Chapter 9

Yongguk’s body is chilled to the core. His hands are shaking, he can’t feel his legs anymore – the fever is raging inside of his body and he thinks he’s losing the battle. The storm has been going on for forever...or that’s at least what it feels like to Yongguk. The thunder strikes in an irregular rhythm, making him flinch every single time.

Rain is hitting his face relentlessly. The only thing that keeps him from closing his eyes and passing out right this instant is Junhong’s arms around his body, carrying him with noticeable effort. The journey back must have really taken a toll on him, Yongguk thinks airily. He was so _strong_ before. _Wait_ , Yongguk immediately tries to get rid of that thought, this must be the fever thinking instead of him.

“There!” Daehyun screams over the strong wind. Yongguk can only make out a dark shadow in the distance, but the silhouette and Daehyun’s nearly ecstatic tone help him realize that it’s probably an opportunity to seek out shelter.

He can’t really remember how they got inside the barn. Suddenly he’s just lying down next to a small fire, his right side _finally_ warm enough to not feel numb anymore. Out of the corner of his eye Yongguk can see how Junhong pulls something out of his backpack and then quickly sits down next to him. “Take this,” he says, voice filled with an emotion Yongguk can’t quite pinpoint with his brain feeling as fuzzy as it does, “It’s medicine, Gukkie.” He gently grabs one of Yongguk’s hands and places a big pill inside, before pushing a water bottle into Yongguk’s other hand.

“Hurry up,” Junhong urges, his eyes never straying from Yongguk’s. They are really pretty eyes, Yongguk notes absentmindedly, fumbling with his hands. em>Uhh, he can’t feel his hands. _Weird_ , they were there a second ago – he’s sure of that. “Gukkie, please just take the medicine,” Junhong pleads, shifts closer to him and reaches out with his hands. They hover over Yongguk’s face but don’t touch him, as if Junhong’s not really sure what to do with them.

Yongguk opens his mouth to inform him that he somehow can’t move his limbs, but what actually comes out of his mouth is something completely different, “Your eyes are really pretty.” _Huh?_ _Where did that come from_ , Yongguk wonders and somehow he doesn’t even feel embarrassed by it, instead his brain tells him to feel good about telling the truth.

However, his honesty apparently makes Junhong feel a little weird. The taller male turns around and says something to Daehyun, but Yongguk only understands a few words – something with _not right_ and _would never say that_.

He doesn’t like the worried look on Junhong’s face either, so he decides to try and get rid of it with more compliments. “I really like your voice,” he slurs happily, “And your hands – your hands are great. I don’t usually like hands, but yours are great. Reeeaaally great. They look so strong, but they’re always gentle. I like that. And your hands, I also like your hands. And you, but also your hands.” Yongguk can’t seem to stop his blabbing and neither Junhong nor Daehyun try to stop him. They just stare at him with matching horrified expressions adorning their faces, the only difference between the two is that Junhong’s also blushing a really pretty shade of scarlet. _Weird._

“I like your hands too, Daehyun,” he hums and directs his gaze at the other male, “They’re so soft and nice to hold. I like holding hands. I like holding your hand, because they are soft. Soft, really. Really soft, you know. Hands...”

Junhong clicks his tongue loudly, “So...holding hands, huh?” He redirects his gaze at Daehyun, an undefinable look in his eyes. “Look,” Daehyun chuckles weakly and swallows nervously, “M-maybe now is not the best time to talk about it?”

“Right,” Junhong drawls with furrowed eyebrows, “We are going to talk about this later on.” Daehyun nods gingerly and Yongguk thinks he looks a little afraid.

“Gukkie,” Junhong turns his attention back to him, “I know you can’t think clearly right now, but it’ll be better after you take the medicine.”

“Mhh,” Yongguk hums and clenches the hand that holds the pill – he still can’t lift his arms, though, “Can’t.”

“What do you mean you can’t?! Are you hurt?” Junhong sounds a little frantic as he pulls Yongguk’s arms up, one after the other, and examines them. He furrows his brows, which makes him look even more tired (Yongguk doesn’t like that at all), “You look fine.” Junhong places a gentle hand on Yongguk’s forehead and brushes his sweaty bangs back, “Please just take the medicine. I promise you’ll feel better afterwards.”

Yongguk closes his eyes and clenches his hands into fists, trying to move his limbs...it doesn’t work, they don’t move at all. His mind is too foggy to really coordinate his movements and his tongue feels suddenly too heavy to say more than a few words. Gathering the last of his concentration he manages a quiet, “Can’t.”

Junhong carefully reaches out and holds his head still with both of his hands, forcing Yongguk to look him directly in the eyes. “I want to help you so bad, but you need to tell me what’s wrong. Please, Gukkie. Tell me or else I can’t help you,” he whispers, so much desperation leaking out of his voice that it makes Yongguk’s heart clench painfully – but maybe he’s just imagining it...he doesn’t know what’s real anymore and what’s not.

Yongguk closes his eyes for a moment, he can’t bear to look at Junhong right now. He just looks so... _sad_ , and Yongguk doesn’t like that it’s because of him. He opens his mouth and pronounces each letter really carefully, since he fears he won’t be able to say it again, “Can’t move my hands.” He collapses a little into himself afterwards. He keeps his eyes closed (more out of exhaustion than out of free will) while Junhong lets go of his head and instead helps him sit a little more upright. He very carefully pries open Yongguk’s still clenched fist and fumbles the pill out of his sweaty palm, his other arm is wrapped tightly around Yongguk’s shoulders, holding him up.

The next thing Yongguk actually sees when he opens his eyes again is Junhong’s face, hovering closely in front of his own. For a moment his mind is clear enough for Yongguk to ask himself why god hates him so much. He must have done something really terrible in another life or he wouldn’t be punished like this. Junhong doesn’t hesitate too long and gently urges Yongguk to open his mouth. Junhong lays the medicine on Yongguk’s tongue and before he can even comprehend what’s happening Junhong takes a big pull from the water bottle and presses his mouth over Yongguk’s.

Before he can react the water is flowing into his mouth and making him swallow the pill by force. But unlike that time at the river Junhong doesn’t break the kiss right away. Instead he lets his lips rest on Yongguk’s for a moment – neither moving away nor deepening the kiss. Yongguk’s kind of a mess at the moment so he doesn’t really know what to do. His fever-clouded brain tells him to kiss back, but his lips don’t obey and he’s left awkwardly sitting against Junhong.

Then suddenly there’s a trembling hand in Yongguk’s hair, that’s pulling him closer and the kiss takes on a desperate note. Yongguk can taste the salty flavor of tears as Junhong opens his lips and deepens the kiss. _Junhong’s crying_ – the reality hits Yongguk harder than he expected.

All at once every suppressed feeling comes crashing down on him. He’s so happy. He’s _so_ happy that he met Junhong. It’s been so long since he last felt this way and before Yongguk can help it he’s crying as well and _finally_ pressing his lips back against Junhong’s. The taller male immediately tightens his hold around Yongguk’s waist, pulling him impossibly closer. Yongguk can feel Junhong’s heart pounding loudly in his chest and although Junhong’s heartbeat is quite quick at the moment it somehow calms him down considerably. He feels protected and safe and like this is where he’s supposed to be. Yongguk is meant to be right here – in Junhong’s arms, feeling like he’s _home_.

Junhong breaks the kiss mere seconds before Yongguk can pull back from the loss of oxygen. He stays close to Yongguk’s face though, forehead pressed softly against his.

Junhong closes his eyes and takes several deep breaths and although Yongguk feels like he should do the same he simply can’t take his eyes off the younger male.

“I thought I lost you,” Junhong whispers, his voice hoarse and broken, “Back at the house, I was searching everywhere for you. But you were gone and the zombies – they...they were everywhere and I-I couldn’t –“

There are so many unsaid emotions swimming in Junhong’s eyes and Yongguk is sure that his own look the same, albeit a little more unfocused.

Junhong breaths in deeply and cards his fingers through Yongguk’s hair just a little too rough – the touch not as controlled as it usually is. “When I couldn’t find you...I-I didn’t know what do to anymore. I’ve lost a lot of friends and companions and acquaintances and whatnot, but I have never felt this...this _helpless_ after losing somebody.”

Yongguk doesn’t know if it’s the fever or because his heart is beating extraordinarily fast, but he feels weirdly breathless and on the edge. And the way Junhong’s looking at him with those big brown eyes, that make him feel warm all over, isn’t helping either.

“J-Jun...hong,” Yongguk whispers brokenly, his voice filled with so _much_. Relief, longing, uncertainty and _hope_. He doesn’t know what to say or do and instead chooses to kiss Junhong again, hoping this will convey the message more clearly.

Junhong sighs into the kiss and lets his hand travel from Yongguk’s waist upwards to tilt Yongguk’s head to the side gently, creating a better angle. However he doesn’t deepen the kiss, it is more of a firm press of lips, as if he wants to make sure that Yongguk is still there. Not that Yongguk can ever leave again – that much was already clear after the first kiss.

They break apart slowly and it’s only then that Yongguk realizes how dizzy he actually feels. His hands and legs still won’t work, but Junhong helps him stay upright. He brings his hand down from Yongguk’s hair to his hips and gently turns him around so that Yongguk’s leaning against him, back to stomach.

The sudden movement makes Yongguk feel slightly nauseous, but his stomach calms down pretty quickly. He guesses that the medicine is already working, because he’s suddenly feeling more sleepy than feverish.

“That was-” Daehyun coughs, cheeks flushed in a lovely red tone, “Very interesting, I have to say. But could we discuss a more...urgent problem?”

“S-sure,” Junhong splutters, having the decency to actually sound embarrassed. Yongguk feels it increasingly hard to focus on the ongoing conversation as he starts to drift in and out of sleep, but he tries his best to stay awake.

“What do we do now?” Daehyun asks and spreads out his blanket near the fire. Yongguk can’t exactly see Junhong rake his fingers through his hair, but he feels movement behind his back and hears the familiar rustle.

“We have to wait out the storm,” Junhong says slowly, thinking, “And then we have to find a map or something else to orientate ourselves.”

Daehyun nods in agreement, “Yeah, you two do that.”

“What?” Yongguk flinches a little at Junhong’s sharp tone and only then really realizes what Daehyun just said. Junhong quickly intertwines his fingers with Yongguk’s, pressing them tightly as an apology.

“You two wait the storm out, find a map and then go back to your friend’s house. You forget about me and Youngjae and talk about whatever this is,” Daehyun gestures at their interlaced fingers, “While I go back to the pharmacy and get Youngjae back.”

“That was not the plan,” Junhong says in a pressed voice, “We wanted to get weapons and go together.”

“Yeah, we did,” Daehyun nearly spits, “And you really think Youngjae still has that much time? You think they’ll just feed him and water him and let him sit next to them near the fire? I’m not even sure if he’s still alive at this moment. I mean...why would they keep him alive?” He trails off at the end, growing quieter in the process.

Junhong sounds pained when he responds after a long moment of silence, “I know you probably don’t want to hear this, but these people...for them, killing somebody is like letting them off way too easy. They’re not gonna kill him before he thoroughly regrets stealing from them.” Even in his dazed state Yongguk can hear the amount of unadulterated distress painting Junhong’s words. He can’t decide if he feels relief at the facts Junhong just stated or not.

“I don’t-” Daehyun shakes his head, before pressing the heels of his hands against his eye sockets, obviously trying to hide his tears. He breathes visibly hard, “I can’t leave him like this. I don’t have the time. _He_ doesn’t have the time.” Daehyun directly looks at them for the first time since the kissing incident. His eyes are determined, his lips pressed into a thin line. He looks ready for a fight.

Junhong doesn’t say anything for a long time and since Yongguk can’t really form any words he’s left speechless too. In the ongoing silence he feels Junhong’s head fall onto his shoulder. He’s muttering something into the skin of Yongguk’s neck and it really shouldn’t make Yongguk as happy as it does.

The quiet stretches on until Junhong finally speaks up again, “I’m sorry. I know that I owe you and Youngjae. And I truly _want_ to help you both, but I don’t know if I can leave Yongguk alone in this condition.”

Daehyun nods at that and fixes his eyes on Yongguk’s slouching form, “I understand that. I would do the same for Youngjae.”

“Stay...by...self,” Yongguk feels overlooked in this situation, but he can’t really argue against the fact that he’s basically useless right now. Leaving him alone after his fever already acted up once before might really be a mistake. Yongguk is mad at himself, because he’s still this weak and because he makes everything so much harder for the people around him. He _wants_ to help Youngjae, but he simply _can’t_. His mind is fuzzy and slow. That doesn’t stop him from brooding though.

Junhong and Daehyun both look at him after he managed to press out these few words, they look as if they’re both planning and considering.

“We’ll need to see if you’re in any condition to be left alone when the storm is over. If we can’t move then they can’t move either, so maybe we have some time,” Junhong muses, letting his chin rest on the juncture of Yongguk’s neck and shoulder.

Daehyun nods absentmindedly and lies down on his blanket, “Let’s sleep for now. I don’t really want to talk anymore.”

“Of course,” Junhong whispers, “Goodnight.”

Daehyun doesn’t say anything after that he just turns around and lays still. In the meantime Junhong pulls his own blanket over them both and leans back until they’re lying down with Yongguk nearly on top of Junhong.

“You need to get better soon. Stop making me worry about you all the time,” Junhong whispers into his ear. It makes the hair on his neck stand up.

“S-sorry,” Yongguk chokes out. He still can’t quite form words, even though the medicine seems to slowly take effect and clear his head a little.

Junhong chuckles rather weakly at his response and instead winds both his arms around Yongguk’s waist. His hold is strong and warm and Yongguk truly feels at peace right now.

“Sleep tight, Gukkie,” Junhong places a soft kiss on his forehead and for the first time Yongguk doesn’t try to hide the smile and scarlet blush adorning his face.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been so long again T.T I'm sorry! Good news though: There's only one exam left!  
> By the way, I want to thank all you guys who wished me luck <3 You're really the best! :DD  
> Furthermore a HUGE thanks to all you guys who left comments and kudos, I'm really happy that you seem to enjoy the story! <3 If you have any comments or suggestions, I'd love to hear them. :D  
> I wish you all a great day! <3


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